Hadjar Baffled by RB22: 'This Car Is Undrivable'
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- Isack Hadjar gagal menjelaskan hilangnya performa di kualifikasi sprint GP Singapura, menyebut RB22 tak bisa dikendalikan.
- Ia tertinggal 0,892 detik dari Max Verstappen di SQ3, dan akan start dari posisi kesembilan.
- Masalah bottoming out dan kurangnya cengkeraman ban medium menjadi penyebab utama keterpurukan.
Isack Hadjar admitted he was baffled by the performance of his Red Bull RB22 in the sprint qualifying session for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix. The French driver could not explain why he struggled to find speed from the first free practice session (FP1) through sprint qualifying.
In FP1, Hadjar had actually looked promising, setting the fourth-fastest time on hard tires, even quicker than his teammate, Max Verstappen. But when he switched to medium tires, he fell seven tenths of a second behind the four-time world champion. The gap continued into SQ1 and SQ2, where Hadjar was 0.705 seconds and 0.246 seconds behind Verstappen.
Entering SQ3, Hadjar used soft tires for the first time as required by the regulations. He set a time of 1 minute 32.048 seconds, but the lap was later deleted for a track limits violation. According to him, the soft tires did offer more grip than the mediums, but it was not enough to help because all the drivers were using them too.
"I don't know. At first it looked good, but it turned into a really bad performance. I felt comfortable in FP1, but only on the hard tires. I never got a good lap. I was just fighting the car. There was an engine issue on the last lap. I don't know, it's strange," Hadjar said.
Hadjar stressed that his car is currently undrivable. "I don't feel like this car is drivable right now," he added. The situation is a blow for Red Bull, which usually dominates, especially with Verstappen taking pole position.
Indonesian context: Although there is no Indonesian driver in F1, Hadjar's failure highlights the importance of adapting quickly to a circuit's character and tire regulations. Big teams like Red Bull can also struggle if a driver is not comfortable with the car. This is a lesson for young Indonesian drivers who aspire to reach F1: consistency and the ability to read the car's condition are key.
Going forward, Red Bull needs to quickly address the bottoming out and engine issues Hadjar experienced. If not, Hadjar's performance in the sprint race and main qualifying could be at risk. Meanwhile, Verstappen will try to maintain his dominance in Singapore. Will Hadjar be able to bounce back and show his true speed? We await the sprint race action.
