Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko branded Isack Hadjar’s tearful exit from the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix as “embarrassing.”
Hadjar was performing admirably throughout the Australian GP weekend, featuring in the top-10 during practice and narrowly missing out on a Q3 appearance on Saturday at the Albert Park circuit, qualifying 11th.
On Sunday, the rain came down hard and turned the Australian GP street venue into a treacherous arena of do-or-die F1 challenges that caught several drivers out.
Tragically for Hadjar, he lost control of his Racing Bulls machine on the formation lap at Turn 2 and his race was over before it began.
Hadjar, 20, was then seen on the world feed distraught as he returned to the paddock, tearful at his missed opportunity in his F1 debut.
Speaking to television broadcaster ORF, Marko said “Isack Hadjar did a little bit of crying after his crash. That was a bit embarrassing.”
Hadjar himself claimed embarrassment, not due to his reaction, but for the incident itself.
“I feel embarrassed today, and I can only learn from my mistake and apologise to the team,” he said.
“There were tricky conditions out there, and from the installation laps, I felt very low grip and poor confidence. In the formation lap, I tried to prepare the tyres as much as I could, but unfortunately, I had a spin and the car was unsavable; I just felt like a passenger before hitting the wall.”
Christian Horner rallies around Hadjar
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner was less scathing in his assessment of Hadjar, offering words of support.
“It was quite heart-wrenching to see him so gutted,” he said sympathetically when talking to select media including Motorsport Week.
“His first Grand Prix, I think the positives he needs to take out of it.
“When he reflects on the weekend, he performed very well through the practices and the qualifying.
“You forget that these guys are just kids, really.
“Obviously a lot of emotion for him today, but I think when he strips it back, there’s an awful lot of positives he can take out of the weekend.
“He’s got many bright days ahead of him.”
Hadjar was also seen being consoled by Anthony Hamilton, father of Lewis, in the paddock shortly after his error, a warm gesture of kindness.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Hamilton Sr said “When I saw it happen, my heart just sank for him.
“I just felt terrible for him, so I thought ‘you know what, I need to go and tell this kid keep your head high, walk tall, you’re gonna come back’.”
Luckily for Hadjar, he has little time to wait to put things right with the Chinese Grand Prix fast approaching this weekend.
READ MORE – Isack Hadjar Exclusive: F1 is ‘f***ing fast’ but I’m a fast learner
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