Isack Hadjar had a Saturday of mixed feelings before the Miami Formula 1 GP. The Red Bull Racing driver finished the Sprint race in ninth position and secured the same spot on the starting grid for Sunday’s GP, but left with the feeling that he could have done more.
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The result indicates progress throughout the weekend, especially after adjustments to the car, but also highlights missed opportunities in the decisive session. Still, the scenario leaves the driver in a competitive position to seek points in the race.
In the Sprint race, Hadjar highlighted the performance improvement compared to the previous day: “The car improved a lot since yesterday and that was clear, including from Max’s (Verstappen) performance,” he said. Despite a difficult start, he managed to recover throughout the race and pointed to an overtaking move on Franco Colapinto as the main moment of the race.
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In the qualifying session for the GP, the feeling was different. The driver admitted he couldn’t extract the maximum in the final laps: “I was a bit frustrated with my performance, I didn’t deliver the laps I wanted in the last attempts. There was more time to find,” he said.
Hadjar also mentioned difficulties on the straights, which compromised the overall performance. Still, he valued the progress made by the team: “I had performance problems on the straight, which made it difficult to put everything together, but we took a big step and we are in a better position for the race,” concluded the Red Bull driver, before receiving the news of his disqualification from the qualifying session due to technical irregularities in the car, which will force him to start at the back of the grid in Sunday’s race.
