F1 pundit Marc Surer has insisted that he was only joking after a quip about Isack Hadjar’s seatbelt woes at the Japanese Grand Prix sparked criticism online.

Hadjar has impressed since joining Red Bull sister team Racing Bulls at the start of the F1 2025 season, making two consecutive Q3 appearances in China and Japan.

F1 pundit Marc Surer speaks out after Isack Hadjar ‘joke’ backfires

The French-Algerian converted seventh on the grid into his first F1 points at Suzuka last weekend as Hadjar finished eighth, holding off Williams’ Alex Albon.

It came after Hadjar was heard complaining of discomfort in the cockpit during qualifying in Japan, later describing the issue with his seatbelts as “a nightmare.”

Hadjar came to prominence after crashing out on the formation lap of his F1 debut in Australia last month with the 20-year-old spotted crying in the aftermath of the incident.

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Helmut Marko, the long-serving Red Bull adviser, took a dim view of Hadjar’s emotional reaction to his mistake in Australia, describing his tears as “embarrassing.”

Commentating on the Japanese Grand Prix for Swiss-German outlet SRF last weekend, Surer could not resist a joke at Hadjar’s expense when the Racing Bulls star discussed his seatbelt problems over team radio.

Surer said: “At least he’s not crying this time!”

The former F1 driver’s comment has been met with a fierce backlash with a viral post on TikTok, the popular video-sharing platform, calling for Surer to be dropped by SRF.

“Dear SRF Sport,” the post says. “Perhaps you should reconsider your choice of commentators. Marc Surer – the commentary was abysmal.”

Surer, who made 82 F1 starts for the likes of Arrows and Brabham between 1979 and 1986, has insisted that his remark was intended as a light-hearted quip.

And he has expressed his admiration for Hadjar having followed the Red Bull graduate’s progress in F2, where he finished as runner-up the current Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto in 2024.

Surer told Swiss-based newspaper Blick: “It was a joke. Unfortunately, not all viewers took it that way.

“I always watch all the Formula 2 races. He already showed his talent there last year.

“I wouldn’t have expected him to be so strong in Formula 1 straight away, but Isack is a really strong driver.”

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Speaking to assembled media after the race at Suzuka, Hadjar claimed eighth was the maximum result available to Racing Bulls in Japan.

He said: “All we could have done today was P8 and we did it, so I think it was a perfectly executed race.

“Left nothing on the table and the pace was definitely strong.

“Especially on the medium [tyre] in the first stint, I felt really, really strong. The first half as well on the hard and later on Alex was just flying and he was catching bit by bit, but I had enough gap to secure the place.

“We still need to review it, but all in all it was good.”

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