Isack Hadjar accepts FIA punishment after chaotic Canadian GP

Isack Hadjar had no complaints after twice being penalised by the FIA stewards at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Handed a 10-second penalty for an incident with Charles Leclerc, and later a 10-second stop/go penalty, Hadjar deemed those “fair” verdicts from the FIA stewards. It was a frustrating Grand Prix Sunday in Montreal for Hadjar, who felt his momentum fizzled out after a strong Saturday.

Isack Hadjar apologises to Charles Leclerc after Canadian GP clash

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Hadjar received a 10-second stop/go penalty after the FIA adjudged him to have failed to slow under double yellow flags. He pitted on Lap 52 of 68 to serve that penalty.

The Red Bull driver’s penalty headaches did not stop there, though.

Later, as Hadjar moved over in defence against Leclerc, the Monegasque dipped a wheel of his Ferrari onto the grass down the back straight.

Leclerc came on team radio to declare that this was almost a “huge one” as he backed out of the move.

The stewards took a dim view of Hadjar’s action, dishing out a 10-second penalty. Hadjar served that penalty on Lap 62, at his third and final pit-stop of the race.

“I don’t mind the penalties. I think that’s fair,” Hadjar reflected as he spoke with the media post-race.

Focusing on his incident with Leclerc, Hadjar said that he was “too harsh” in his defence. It wasn’t on “purpose” as Hadjar “just got confused” over where Leclerc “was heading, so I didn’t mean to send him in the grass.”

He added: “He’s a very clean driver, so I just apologise, because it was a bit stupid.”

Despite a very eventful race, Hadjar did secure a P5 finish. That is his best result yet as a Red Bull driver.

Alas, Hadjar was not in a celebratory mood.

“I don’t really understand where the pace went, because I really felt like I struggling a lot out there,” he admitted.

“Yesterday [Saturday] felt great in the car, and now it’s very hard to drive.”

Hadjar positioned himself as a surprise contender for pole position by topping the second part of qualifying. He was ultimately forced to settle for the third row, but did match the pace of his four-time world champion teammate Max Verstappen.

“I felt like I was back in FP1 to be honest,” Hadjar continued in his Canadian GP verdict.

“Not pleasant to drive, and I need to really dig deep, because I felt comfortable, the first few laps, and then they opened the gap and I could never match their pace, whereas yesterday [Saturday], I was easily there. So no clue.”

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Hadjar, when asked if his struggle was comparable to Verstappen’s in the Sprint, and therefore could be pinned on a lack of straight-line speed, added that he wished he could say “straight-line speed was the only issue,” but in reality, “it was the whole thing.”

Hadjar goes into the Monaco Grand Prix 12th in the Drivers’ standings on 14 points, compared to Verstappen’s 43.

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