Hadjar says he spoke without thinking in Austin radio outburst

Isack Hadjar said he had not thought before speaking during his angry team-radio outburst at the United States Grand Prix in Austin. Looking back on the race in Mexico, his response on his own conduct was brief: he acknowledged there were things he should have kept to himself.

Hadjar qualified third in Austin, but a poor start left him running fifth. His team chose a one-stop strategy for him, while Max Verstappen went for two pit stops. Hadjar’s approach initially looked the stronger one, but a power-unit mapping problem after his pit stop cost him time, and what might have been a good result never materialised.

Hadjar said the team had not been open-minded enough about putting everyone on a one-stop strategy. It was convinced the softer compound worked better and may have overestimated tyre wear, he said. He also said he had good pace on the soft tyre and did not want to pit too early. The team, he added, did not want Verstappen to lose his race while on a different strategy; Hadjar said the split had caused confusion.

The strategy had since been reviewed, Hadjar said, and they would move on. He described the shortcomings not as foolish mistakes but as small, important details the team sometimes let slip.