Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar claims he could’ve finished higher up than P8 had he not been “screwed” by Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc.“We got screwed at the end by Charles.”- Isack Hadjar
Photo: RacePictures.
Overall it was a great performance from both Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson, and Hadjar to have placed their cars in P6 and P8 respectively on the grid. Particularly when looking at the big names that fell out early in the session, like Lewis Hamilton and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Nevertheless, Hadjar thinks the chance of a better outcome for himself and the team was on the table. “We got screwed at the end by Charles,” said Hadjar bluntly after the Las Vegas GP qualifying.
“He went out, there was a yellow flag and that was it,” added the rookie summarising his chopped last push lap in Q3.
P4 was on the table
After running in P5 for a time during the last part of qualifying Hadjar admitted he was targeting a P4 finish, which ultimately became unravelled by the yellow flag triggered by Leclerc’s off-track excursion.
“Minimum 5th. Just looking at it. I was 7 tenths up, you do the math. It’s 5th and if I find more time then maybe more. But it’s if, if, if. I should have done the lap earlier.
“I was way up on my lap, we were looking at a top four,” he clarified to F1TV. “But a yellow flag is a yellow flag, so that’s it. It’s so frustrating to have to back off for that.
“Of course I’m a bit gutted, I would have liked to start a bit more ahead, but still it’s a good position,” he concluded.
Racing Bulls are currently locked in a tight battle for P6 in the Constructors’ championship which they lead from Aston Martin, Haas and Sauber.
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