Helmut Marko thinks Isack Hadjar is impressed in one area that ‘newcomers struggle with’ in F1

Isack Hadjar suffered a tough start to his Formula 1 career in Melbourne when he crashed on the formation lap.

It was an embarrassing moment for Hadjar, however, he would end up being consoled by the father of Lewis Hamilton in the F1 paddock.

Since the crash, the 20-year-old has gone from strength to strength, having scored points at both the Japanese and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix.

Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen said he has been ‘incredibly impressed’ by Hadjar, having come back from his tough start and impressed in the races and qualifying sessions.

Discussing his progress in his latest Speedweek column, Helmut Marko has praised Hadjar for doing one thing F1 rookies often struggle to achieve in their first years.

Helmut Marko praises Isack Hadjar for consistency at new tracks

With F1 now being a 24-race calendar, there is a lot of opportunities for drivers to experience new circuits they haven’t yet raced.

Those coming from F2 or F3 will have only raced at the European rounds predominantly, which means they will need to learn some new tracks when they take on F1 for the first time.

This often leads to a dip in form at these races, but Hadjar has impressed Red Bull by still delivering at these circuits.

“In my view, Hadjar is the discovery of this first World Cup phase. The young Parisian did not know most courses, but was always immediately fast and made few mistakes, apart from the blunders in Australia,” said Hadjar.

“Isack manages in the races what many Formula 1 newcomers struggle with – he shows consistently good lap times, while he handles the tyres very well. He delivers all this relatively unexcited.”

Isack Hadjar has scored more points than Liam Lawson

Red Bull started off the year in crisis, having elected to swap Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda following the first two rounds of the season.

The Milton Keynes outfit grew frustrated with Lawson’s lack of progress, instead giving his drive to the more experienced Tsunoda, who they felt would help them with their problems.

As a result of being demoted, Lawson has yet to score any points for either Red Bull or Racing Bulls in the first five races of the season.

Hadjar has now become the highest-scoring second Red Bull driver, joint with Yuki Tsunoda after the first five races, having also scored points in Saudi Arabia.