An early crash by Isack Hadjar halts qualifying in Austin – The rookie takes full responsibility and apologizes to the team
Qualifying for the US Grand Prix in Austin was interrupted in Q1 after Isack Hadjar crashed heavily into the barriers at turn six. The rookie lost control of the car on his first flying lap – at that point, no driver had set a valid time.
Hadjar was uninjured but visibly frustrated as he angrily hit his steering wheel in the cockpit. After getting out, he explained: “I’ll be honest, I just approached that section wrong. I was too cautious in the first half, then I came into the second half with too much speed. When the car suddenly broke out, I was already in the wall. There was nothing I could do.”
The session had to be stopped with a red flag to repair the track barrier and clear away debris.
Hadjar: There was no problem with the car
Hadjar doesn’t want to make any excuses. Although the track was particularly treacherous in the first sector due to bumps and wind, the Frenchman emphasizes that he himself is responsible. “I definitely struggled with the handling throughout the lap,” he says. “But when I lost the car, it was my mistake—there was no problem with the car.”
In a later team statement, Hadjar expressed his remorse: “I’m sorry for the team that the car isn’t coming back in one piece. I went into the corner too fast and was surprised at how quickly the rear end snapped out. I knew I couldn’t recover.“
He talks about ”fine margins“ at the Circuit of The Americas: ”It’s all about millimeters here. I know I should have done something different in my corner entry. It’s the small differences that make the difference.”
Bumps, wind, and bad luck: A challenging weekend
The conditions in Austin were already challenging during practice. The track is known for its bumps, and the wind made it even more difficult to control the car. “The bumps in turn six looked pretty severe,” analyzed Sky commentator Martin Brundle during the live broadcast. “He was on the right line, but the car just broke away. I feel for him—there was nothing he could do.”
Hadjar himself confirmed: “I struggled with the handling, but that’s no excuse. It was my mistake.” After his early retirement, the Frenchman will have to start Sunday’s main race from the back of the field. He had already struggled with problems in Friday’s sprint, where he was relegated to the back of the field after a collision with Yuki Tsunoda and finished only twelfth.
“I have to do better tomorrow”
Despite his disappointment, Hadjar remains self-critical and combative. “The sprint was frustrating—I was hit from behind by Yuki and ended up last. The pace was actually good, but it just wasn’t my day,” he says. “I have to do better tomorrow and try to make something special out of it.”
He is focusing on damage control in the race: “Of course, it’s not ideal to start from the back. But we’ve had good races where we’ve caught up from the back. Maybe an opportunity will arise—or a little magic.“
The rookie knows that setbacks like this are part of the learning process. ”I’ve had a lot of low points in my career, and this is just one of them,“ he explains. ”I’ve become more resilient—but it still hits me hard.”
