Mekies says Red Bull owe Hadjar an apology after Singapore qualifying

Isack Hadjar returned to the garage after a gearbox problem cut short his Singapore Grand Prix qualifying; the FIA’s provisional classification lists him as not classified. Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said the team owed Hadjar an apology and had not given him a chance to show his speed over the weekend.

Hadjar told Formula 1 he broke the gearbox at Turn 8. He said the car was badly damaged and that he brought it back to the garage rather than stopping on track. He was frustrated, he said, because he wanted to be driving and doing his best.

Hadjar had run into trouble before Grand Prix qualifying. In Friday’s Sprint Qualifying, he was ninth after his SQ3 lap was deleted for exceeding track limits. He later said engine issues affected his last run and the car did not feel driveable. Mekies said a power-unit issue had affected Hadjar in Saturday’s Sprint, before the gearbox problem in qualifying. Hadjar said they had encountered problems in every session except FP1.