Lewis Hamilton’s “habits” through driving for Mercedes for so long might be contributing to the “brutal” adaptation to driving for Ferrari, according to Formula 1 rookie Isack Hadjar.
It’s been a tale of two seasons for the seven-time World Champion and the French rookie.
The former has endured a difficult start to life in Maranello. With one Sprint Race victory and a run of modest points finishes without a podium, Hamilton has cut a despondent figure.
A significant contrast to Hadjar, who has been highlighted as one of the standout rookies – amongst many – of the season.
After a formation lap spin in Australia, which Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko dubbed “embarrassing”, Hadjar has gone on to show his worth in the VCARB 02, scoring 22 points.
When asked by Mundo Deportivo about a driver’s adaptation, citing Hamilton’s move to Ferrari as an example, Hadjar theorised that the difficult situation he is in might be down to moving from Mercedes after such a long time.
“Yes, but they are cases that have been with the same car for many years and they have habits and the change is more brutal,” he said.
“I don’t have any habits, you know? I’m in an F1 car, the year before I was in F2, before F3. So I keep changing, I keep adapting. I don’t have any habits, and having habits is the worst thing.”
Hadjar did hand Hamilton a great deal of praise, however, explaining that he was a big inspiration for how he drives.
“I think growing up, I was more of a fan of Hamilton’s driving style,” he added.
“His race management when he was in the Mercedes. I wasn’t watching the Grand Prix, I was just putting on Lewis’ on-board camera and watching the race. I learned a lot from him.”
Now the two share the track, Hadjar, who is half Hamilton’s age, explained it was special to be around him, as well as his father Anthony, who comforted him after his Melbourne mishap, saying: “It’s always nice to race with him, to spend time with him. Sometimes talking to him is great, because he’s someone I’ve supported since I was very young.
“And now being together with him is… meeting his father is also… it’s great, we get along well. Obviously there’s a big age gap. There’s a lot of respect.”
Hadjar also revealed that Hamilton “doesn’t give me much either because we’re still rivals. If I need advice, I ask them, but I don’t need help,” adding: “I don’t like to ask for help. I like to learn on my own.”
Hadjar feels in good company amid ‘good generation’ of rookies
Hadjar narrowly missed out on the Formula 2 title to fellow F1 protégé Gabriel Bortoleto, and his showings in the feeder series were enough to see him given a chance with Red Bull’s satellite outfit.
He credited the pre-season testing programme in Bahrain as a significant milestone to adapt to an F1 car, giving him the confidence to compete for the season.
“I needed those tests in Bahrain to finally do my best in an F1 car for three days,” he said.
“After that, honestly, I went to Melbourne and felt quite familiar. Since then, I’ve been learning more and more. I’m getting more used to it and more used to working with the guys.”
There has been a plethora of F2 alumni in F1 this year, with Oliver Bearman and Andrea Kimi Antonelli also making the jump, along with previous drivers in the category, including current team-mate Lawson.
Hadjar said that he feels that he is amongst a high level of rookies this year, crediting both F2 and F3 as a pivotal stepping stone.
“We are F1 drivers. I think every rookie has adapted very quickly. It’s a good generation, I would say. We learned a very high level in F3 and F2.”
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