Hadjar owns up to Miami disaster: ‘I just threw it all away’

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Isack Hadjar was left to grapple with a self-inflicted disaster at the Miami Grand Prix, labeling his early exit a "tough one" after a clumsy error wiped out what he believed was a certain points-scoring finish.

Starting from the pitlane following his exclusion from qualifying, Hadjar opted to gamble on the hard tyre as he set off on a spirited charge through the field, only for the Frenchman’s afternoon to end abruptly against a concrete wall after just four laps.

The incident occurred when Hadjar struck the wall at the apex of Miami’s tight Turn 14/15 chicane, shattering his steering and sending the car helplessly into the outside barrier.

The Red Bull charger’s frustration was visible immediately as he slammed the steering wheel before climbing out, knowing exactly what he had lost.

“This was a tough one, just like breaking the car is pissing me off a lot,” Hadjar told reporters. “And also I think that was easy points, considering the car I had. So I just threw it all away."

When asked to recount the specific mechanics of the crash, the Red Bull prospect admitted the moment was a blur of lost concentration.

"I can't really remember, because it went by very quickly. So I don’t have very good memory of exactly what happened, just felt like a big hit,” he explained.

“I just didn't see it coming, and then the car was broken. I went in the other wall, couldn't stop it. So yeah, it just shows how much you need to be focussed, and I wasn't."

Wasted potential in Miami

The crash was particularly bitter for Hadjar because the RB-20’s pace appeared genuine. Even on the less grippy hard tyres, he had carved through the back of the pack with ease during the opening three laps of racing.

“I felt honestly awesome on those first few laps,” he said. “I mean, it was very easy for me to overtake. Lindblad was the last car I overtook, starting from the pits within just three laps of racing.

“So I think we had very good pace. So to me, it was feeling fine."

The weekend had been a turbulent one for both driver and team. Qualifying exclusion and a lack of straight-line speed on Friday forced the team into a defensive posture, though they appeared to have turned a corner before the race began.

“Both the team and I made mistakes this weekend,” Hadjar admitted. “It's been honestly a bit of a disaster from both our sides.

“So yeah, we need to stick together and see what we can do the next race. We're happy there's more performance in the car. It's not such a pain now to make it to Q3, which it was the first few rounds."

Reflecting on the car’s evolution, he added: "Even though I couldn't put it together, I couldn't do what I wanted. I still feel faster than the last two weekends, for example.

“So if I do the job, put it together, you look at Max, what he's done yesterday, clearly the car made a step.”

Regarding the technical hurdles with the Power Unit, Hadjar noted that the direction was finally correct.

“It's very complicated. They've done very good job through the weekend fixing the issues. I was the worst on Friday, and today, I think we found something,” he said.

“And yeah, at least moving in the right direction. We were not stuck with the same issue. But yeah, we need to make sure next weekend we get on with it and there's no margin for fine tuning.”