The disappointment of French driver Isack Hadjar, who crashed during the formation lap in Australia, is already a memory he wishes to quickly forget.
On this very chilly morning in China, Isack Hadjar strikes a pose. Amidst the vast garden that serves as a paddock for the team hospitalities, the Frenchman is no longer racing. He takes his time, but smiles, without forcing it. Four days later, there’s no trace of the accident that put him at the center of attention during the Australian GP.
The Racing Bulls driver is, however, willing to talk about it very freely. Just like the consequences which, in the end, seem less terrible than at the time of the crash on Sunday. “I feel like I’ve touched people,” was one of his first comments. “I would have preferred it to happen differently and to touch them in a different way, but I don’t feel any negativity.“
The false start of the French team in Melbourne
Except perhaps for the acerbic remark from Helmut Marko on Austrian television, which was later repeated in the night following the race (“He made a spectacle of himself with his tears and it’s rather embarrassing.“). And yet, even for these unkind words, Hadjar, who is very close to the Austrian boss of Red Bull’s auto division, has a way of seeing things. “I also found it embarrassing,” he continued. “And the doctor’s comments were in German. And in his language, it doesn’t really mean the same thing.“
Support came quickly in the form of Lewis Hamilton‘s father, his childhood idol, and then from the head of F1 himself, Stefano Domenicali, which undoubtedly comforted the driver aware of his mistake. “Driving on a white line in the rain,” he explains without any embarrassment, “was already not great. But doing it in first gear with a low-revving engine was frankly not a good idea. During the grid formation laps, I had taken more risks.” And the car had not spun out. As he set off for his first start, the Racing Bulls crashed in front of the whole world.
“I know what it feels like when the world’s eyes turn to you after such an accident,” Hamilton defended yesterday. “I had spoken to him during the drivers’ parade before the start and told him to enjoy without putting pressure on himself. We even took a selfie together.”
It was learned that the British champion had made a call to support the unfortunate boy, reminding him that he himself had experienced such mishaps. And he mentioned his off-track excursion, ending in the gravel trap, right here in China, in 2007 during his first season.
All these messages, these gestures, allowed him to move on even if, on Sunday evening, the pill was “clearly hard to swallow“. On Monday, Hadjar was back in racer mode. A bit of shopping with his sister and parents, then a dinner organized with his engineers, “to move on“. And what he’s talking about is this second Grand Prix that’s already coming up with a new track to discover and a format, that of the sprint race, to endure.
And the young driver (20 years old) we know was back. Without tapping his knee, Hadjar regained last week’s enthusiasm, without any worry or anxiety. About the track? “I loved playing it as a kid, on PS3 or PS4. It was a track where I had a lot of fun.” And only one free practice session to learn the layout before qualifying? “When I was in F3 or F2, that was the pace we were used to and I don’t think I suffered too much. I’m not worried.” Hadjar hasn’t lost his habits, always munching on pistachios. Always hungry.
