Carlos Sainz has strongly criticized Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar following the qualifying round for the Canadian Grand Prix. According to the Spanish driver, his fast lap in Q1 was completely ruined due to Hadjar’s interference. Sainz had to abort his lap, which ultimately led to his elimination in the first qualifying round. He will start from P17 on Sunday. Hadjar received a three-place grid penalty for the incident, dropping him from the top ten to the twelfth starting position.
Sainz seemed on track to join his teammate Alex Albon in the top ten in Montreal, but was eliminated in Q1, just like in the previous race. The Williams driver directly attributes this to Hadjar, who he claims obstructed him during his fast lap. The French-Algerian received a three-place grid penalty for this, but that was scant consolation for a visibly frustrated Carlos Sainz.
After the qualifying round, Sainz was asked if he still had hope in the speed of Williams on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. His answer left nothing to the imagination: “Well, I don’t care if I was fast,” he responded bitterly. “If you have someone in front of you in Q1 who keeps driving in the middle of the track and ruins your qualification, your entire weekend is immediately spoiled.” Sainz explained that he had Hadjar in his sights at turns three and four. “I was surprised that he didn’t move out of the way,” he said. “I already lost a tenth or two due to the dirty air. Then I thought: ‘He’s just playing a game.’ That wasn’t a direct hindrance, but it was frustrating.”
Hadjar: ‘Thought Sainz had aborted his lap’
“Only at turn five did I realize he was not going to move aside,” Sainz sighed. “I had to lift off the throttle and overtake him on the inside at turn six. That cost me another two to three tenths. All in all, it cost me about three to four tenths – exactly the difference we needed to advance to Q2. It’s incredibly frustrating.” Sainz didn’t want to say much about his prospects for Sunday’s race. The disappointment of missing the qualification opportunity overshadowed everything. “I really don’t care about tomorrow,” he concluded irritably. “We were fast all weekend, even in the long runs, but it doesn’t matter if you have to start from P17.”
During a later press moment, Hadjar was also asked about the incident. The Racing Bulls driver, who had initially qualified ninth, insisted it was a misunderstanding and that he did not intentionally want to hinder Sainz. “I was told he had aborted his lap,” Hadjar defended himself. “I was in a fast in-lap myself, so I didn’t deviate from the ideal line. We’ve all experienced it – apparently, he was still in a push-lap. I’m sorry for him, but honestly, I couldn’t have done much about it.”
