Isack Hadjar "very frustrated" after an early withdrawal in Melbourne

For the second year in a row, the first race of the season Formula 1 It didn't go well for Isack Hadjar. On the Melbourne circuit, the Frenchman hoped to capitalize on an encouraging weekend that began with a solid third position on the grid in qualifying, after showing good pace and positive feelings behind the wheel of his carBut from the very first laps of the race, the situation became complicated. At the start of the Australian Grand Prix, facing... Classic Ferrari for sale Having performed very well at the start, the Frenchman got off to a good start and took advantage of Antonelli's difficulties at takeoff to maintain his starting position, while Charles Leclerc, who started behind him, took the lead in the race ahead of George Russell.

However, the car's behavior and especially the engine noise quickly alerted the Frenchman. “I knew the engine was going to blow up after the first corner; the sound changed completely after the start. The only positive thing was that I got a great launch, and then my battery died. I felt like I was driving a V8 Supercar; the noise was insane, and then it blew up.”"He explained to Canal+ microphones. Visibly frustrated after the race, Isack Hadjar spoke of a single-seater that was particularly difficult to drive." "I can't even count the number of problems I had with the car! It really wasn't fun."

The frustration of a job well done but poorly rewarded

Isack Hadjar especially regrets not being able to exploit the pace shown earlier in the weekend, particularly during the Australian Grand Prix tests, where the car seemed much more efficient and consistent. "That's not what I wanted. I would have liked the car to behave like it did on Friday; the pace was good, the deployment was consistent. That would have been cool. I'm sure I would have taken the lead thanks to the start I got, and then we would have had fun with the guys. I would have liked to finish the race."

The Frenchman also emphasized the contrast between his personal performance and the outcome of his weekend. While he felt he had done a solid job since the start of the Australian Grand Prix weekend, reliability issues prevented him from competing for a place in the race. "I don't like weekends where I do a really good job, no mistakes, I feel very comfortable in the car, and then everything else falls apart. It's very frustrating; we could have been fighting for third or fourth place." Despite the disappointment, the French driver prefers to focus on the importance of precisely identifying the origin of these problems in order to prevent such a scenario from recurring in the next rounds of the championship. "As long as we can figure out why it turned into a disaster, we'll be okay."

The retirement is nonetheless a blow for Isack Hadjar, who had hoped to start his season on a positive note after a crash on the warm-up lap last year at the same circuit. His hopes were all the more justified after a weekend that had been very solid in terms of his driving up to that point. Qualifying remained a positive element of this Grand Prix for the Frenchman, who will want to do better at the next race in China, from March 13th to 15th.

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