As Isack Hadjar walked back to the paddock having crashed his Racing Bulls F1 car on the formation lap at a wet Albert Park, all but Helmut Marko’s heart went out to the 20-year-old.

Crying inside his helmet as he trudged back, perhaps anticipating the condemnation that was to come, he was greeted on his walk by an unexpected figure: Anthony Hamilton.

Isack Hadjar was in tears after his Australian GP DNS

The father of one of Hadjar’s F1 heroes, Lewis Hamilton, Anthony was in the Ferrari to watch his son Lewis’s debut in red.

But seeing the distraught figure of Hadjar making his way into the paddock, clearly in tears despite trying to keep it hidden from the cameras, Hamilton went out to console the youngster.

“When I saw it happen, my heart just sank for him. Not just for him, for his parents, for everything that they’ve done, to work hard to get to this point,” he told Sky F1.

“And it’s like snatched from you.

“And I just felt terrible for him. So I just thought, ‘you know what, I need to go tell this kid, keep your head high, walk tall, you’re gonna come back.’”

“I think he’s a phenomenal driver, you know, I really do. I think there is more to come from Isack than we probably have seen this weekend.”

As for Hadjar, he was moved by Hamilton’s gesture.

“It means a lot knowing he knew who I was, how I felt, going to see me in the worst moment ever,” he said. “I think it’s nice from him. Really appreciate that.”

Asked what Hamilton said, the driver revealed: “Keep my head high and improve myself, that I did well yesterday. Nice stuff.”

Conclusions and ratings from the Australian GP

👉 Australian GP conclusions: Norris 2.0, the Max factor and why Hamilton needs time

👉 Australian GP driver ratings: Who mastered the storm in Melbourne?

Hamilton Snr. wasn’t the only one to console Hadjar as F1 chief Stefano Domenicali also made his way to the Racing Bulls hospitality.

“Stefano came into my room and said similar things [to Hamilton]. It’s nice to see that I get this support from the team, it means a lot to me,” he said.

Their commiserations were in sharp contrast to Helmut Marko’s words where he called Hadjar’s “tearful show” a “bit embarrassing”.

But while Marko may have been short on sympathy for the rookie’s horror mistake on debut, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner felt for him.

“It was quite heart-wrenching to see him so gutted, you know, his first Grand Prix,” said Horner.

“I think the positives he needs to take out of it when he reflects on the weekend, he performed very well through the practises and the qualifying.

“You forget that these guys are just kids really, and obviously a lot of emotion for him today, but I think when he strips it back, there’s an awful lot of positives he can take out of the weekend and he’s got many bright days ahead of him.”

Read next: Revealed: Lewis Hamilton’s first feedback on his new Ferrari engineer