Isack Hadjar suffered a heartbreaking debut in Formula 1 at the Australian Grand Prix as he crashed out before the start of the race.
Optimism was high at Racing Bulls going into the race after the Frenchman and teammate Yuki Tsunoda showed strong speed in the dry over the weekend, qualifying 11th and fifth respectively.
The former would have been filled with excitement ahead of his debut race in F1. Hadjar had shown ‘monstrous’ pace in private testing for Racing Bulls and would have wanted to carry that into the Australian Grand Prix.
However, the tricky weather and track conditions caught out the 20-year-old on the formation lap. He spun at turn two and hit the wall, damaging his rear wing beyond repair.
Hadjar was extremely emotional as he stepped out of his VCARB 02. It is not how he or the Faenza-based outfit would have wanted his debut to go.
Isack Hadjar vows to make ‘less silly mistakes’ after Australian Grand Prix crash
The Frenchman was one of three drivers to crash out before the opening lap. Fellow rookie Jack Doohan and Carlos Sainz also spun in the rain and destroyed their cars.
Fernando Alonso, Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto added to the damage bill as they all got caught out in the tricky conditions. But Hadjar’s retirement was by far the most heavy-hitting.
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The 20-year-old was inconsolable on his walk back to the paddock, but he did get some support from Lewis Hamilton’s father Anthony. Hadjar was ‘sweating;’ meeting Hamilton for the first time – the seven-time champion is his biggest idol.
Hadjar will hope to battle with the Ferrari driver on track at the Chinese Grand Prix next weekend. Speaking with BBC 5 Live, the Frenchman has vowed he will try to make ‘less silly mistakes’ after retiring before his first race.
“I’m just embarrassed and I’m sorry for the team, that’s it,” he said. “I don’t know, it’s not up to me to decide how people think of how good I am, I’m just going to try and come back in China with less silly mistakes.”
Can Isack Hadjar bounce back at the Chinese Grand Prix?
Hadjar will be crestfallen after Melbourne – so much was expected of his F1 debut. But it will be important for the Frenchman to dust himself off and go again in Shanghai.
The VCARB 02 showed encouraging signs of performance in Australia despite not scoring any points. Hadjar and Tsunoda will look to take this into China and get some points on the board.
Romain Grosjean backs Hadjar as 2025’s ‘most exciting’ rookie alongside Kimi Antonelli. The former’s crash is a major setback but he showed glimpses of his ability in qualifying.
To line up P11 for the race is a positive the 20-year-old can take. Racing Bulls will not want him to lull over his mistake in Melbourne for too long.
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