Isaac Hadjar sees a major missed opportunity after the Canadian qualifying session—the car was fast, but he couldn’t make it work
Isaac Hadjar was highly self-critical after qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix, despite a good result. He is convinced that much more was possible.
Hadjar beat Max Verstappen by 0.413 seconds in the first qualifying session yesterday and seemed on track for one of his best results of the season. In the second qualifying session, he even set the fastest lap time, which was 0.504 seconds faster than the lap set by his teammate and four-time world champion Verstappen. Nevertheless, the young Frenchman is dissatisfied with his performance.
“I had a really good feeling,” explains Hadjar, who improved by another 0.046 seconds compared to Q1. “That was frustrating because I did a very good job in Q1 and Q2 and then couldn’t deliver in Q3.”
Disappointment over the decisive lap
The final lap in the third qualifying session, in particular, gave him a headache. “The car felt really good. We had a good car and good opportunities, and I couldn’t capitalize on them,” he says.
Despite the disappointment, Hadjar missed pole position by just 0.357 seconds, a smaller gap than in any of his previous qualifying sessions as a Formula 1 driver. “That’s why I’m dissatisfied,” he says. “We had a good car. The team knows that we’re pretty good on days like this. Montreal could have been a highlight.
Confidence Looking Ahead to the Race
Hadjar remains optimistic about the race, however. The positive impressions from qualifying outweigh the negatives for him. “I feel much more comfortable in the car,” he says. “I’m no longer getting torn apart in every corner, and it feels more normal again, more like it did during the first three race weekends.
Looking ahead to race day, he adds: “Miami was a write-off for me, and now we’re back to more normal conditions. I’m happy with the car and the setup changes we made leading up to qualifying. We’ve gotten much closer to pole position, so we’re on the right track.”
