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Isack Hadjar is one of the many rookies who made their debut in the premier class this year. In his first season with Racing Bulls, he was once dubbed ‘the revelation of the season’. With 21 World Championship points, he holds a respectable tenth place in the drivers’ standings. Hadjar has several major figures within Formula 1 who inspire him, but Lewis Hamilton remains his biggest idol. What makes the British star so special?
In an episode of the Beyond the Grid podcast, Isack Hadjar was asked about Lewis Hamilton. Why is the young Parisian so enamored with the seven-time world champion, and how does someone like Hamilton compare to legendary drivers like Ayrton Senna? “Senna is the fastest driver of all time,” Hadjar explained. “But the best and most complete driver ever is indeed Lewis Hamilton. Ayrton is simply the fastest – in dry, wet, and changing conditions.”
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Hamilton’s Sunday Stunt
Hadjar may be too young to have seen Senna race, but the Frenchman is well acquainted with his performances and exceptional qualities. The Brazilian was particularly able to make a difference in qualifying, while Hamilton shows his strength in the race, Hadjar noted. “He (Hamilton) can start from the very back and still race and fight with, for example, George Russell,” the 20-year-old driver said. “Even if he started as eighteenth and Russell started somewhere at the front.”
“When Hamilton was in a group, he always had a different approach and chose different lines to avoid dirty air,” Hadjar praised his idol. “And in the case of a DRS train – where everyone drives six tenths behind their predecessor – he drove at three tenths. On Sundays, he really races phenomenally.” The question is whether Hamilton will show his class this year. In his debut season at Ferrari, we occasionally catch a glimpse of the former world champion, but so far he has left much to be desired. Moreover, it is the first season in his long career in which he did not manage to achieve a single podium in the first ten Grands Prix.
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