Isack Hadjar under threat as FIA launches Austrian Grand Prix investigation

The FIA has launched an investigation into Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar following an alleged breach during Austrian Grand Prix qualifying.

Hadjar qualified eighth in a dramatic qualifying session at the Red Bull Ring.

FIA launches investigation over Isack Hadjar Austrian GP breach

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The FIA has issued a warning to Isack Hadjar since this article was originally published

Mercedes driver George Russell claimed a controversial pole position after Hadjar’s Red Bull teammate, the four-time world champion Max Verstappen, crashed on his final Q3 lap.

Replays showed Russell lifting off as he approached the scene of Verstappen’s accident, with the British driver completing his lap to pip Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari to pole.

The FIA stewards noted Russell for the breach before opting against a further investigation.

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Hadjar set the eighth-quickest time in the pole position shootout, trailing Russell by around half a second.

The French-Algerian could face a penalty over an incident in Q1.

Hadjar and a Red Bull team representative are required to report to the stewards at 17:30 local time in Austria over an alleged breach of Article B1.8.5 and failing to follow the race director’s notes.

The rule relates to driving unnecessarily slowly.

Speaking to PlanetF1.com and other media outlets after qualifying, Hadjar commented that his Saturday performance was a big improvement after a challenging Friday.

He said: “Way better today.

“Still not our strong point at all. I’m struggling more on the brakes, if anything. Deployment on the straight, I’m not very happy with how it’s been optimised for qualifying.”

Asked if his persistent struggles at Turn 3 across the weekend are unusual, he added: “No, it’s not unusual.

“It’s the nature of the track and with these cars, with a lot less downforce compared to last year, these things happen.

“We are not the only team struggling. I think you saw [Norris] spinning in this corner yesterday, so it just shows how hard it is to get it pinned in the rear.”

Asked about his constant complaints about the brakes over team radio, Hadjar said: “Just can’t smash the brakes really.

“I’m a late breaker, heavy breaker and this weekend I’ve not been able to use any of that, so then it compromised the whole rest of the corner – you can’t brake, you can’t do anything.”

Despite a difficult start to the weekend for the senior team, Red Bull managed to get all four of its cars into the top 10 in Austria, with the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad set to start ninth and 10th respectively.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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