Isack Hadjar showed irritation with Kimi Antonelli after an incident that occurred at the start of the Formula 1 Chinese GP Sprint. The French driver stated that the Italian’s maneuver compromised part of his race and hindered the team’s work during the short race.
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The battle happened in the very first moments of the Sprint in Shanghai, when Antonelli was trying to recover positions after a poor start. During the overtaking attempt, the Mercedes driver misjudged the available space and ended up touching Hadjar’s car.
The contact occurred when the front left part of Antonelli’s car hit the right side of the Frenchman’s RB22. The collision caused damage to the floor of Hadjar’s car and ended up compromising his performance throughout the race.
After the race, Antonelli sought out Hadjar to apologize for the incident. The Italian driver went to the Frenchman right after the end of the Sprint to try to explain the situation.
Hadjar, however, did not accept the apology at that moment. According to the Frenchman himself, he preferred to end the conversation and asked Antonelli to leave.
In an interview with the Canal+ broadcaster, the Racing Bulls driver commented on the impact of the incident on his race. According to him, the damage caused to the car prevented the team from being able to work properly during the race.
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“We wanted to understand how the Soft tire would behave, but with the floor completely destroyed we couldn’t work,” the driver stated.
Hadjar also criticized the way Antonelli handled the overtaking attempt right at the start of the Sprint. For the Frenchman, the Italian did not need to take so many risks at that point in the race.
“I don’t understand why he was so excited when he has a very fast car and would be able to recover positions anyway,” he said.
Despite the frustration, the French driver treated the incident as something that can happen in races. Still, he made it clear that the situation directly harmed his performance in the Sprint held in Shanghai.
“Anyway, it happens,” Hadjar concluded when commenting on the episode involving the Mercedes driver.
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