Hadjar demands change at Red Bull after poor start: 'It's too fragile'
· Yahoo Sports
Isack Hadjar has called on Red Bull to redesign the clutch on the RB22 after a poor start at the United States Grand Prix.
Hopes for a podium were high after Hadjar qualified third for Sunday's race in Austin. However, a poor getaway left him falling behind the two Ferrari drivers of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. He went on to finish sixth after Lando Norris also got ahead thanks to a superior strategy.
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Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Hadjar said he had done nothing wrong at the launch and blamed the hardware entirely. His comments come after Kimi Antonelli pointed out to Max Verstappen after the race that the Dutchman's Red Bull also "bogged down" at the start.
Hadjar said: "You know, I do everything perfectly in terms of procedure, and then I just have clutch over delivery. These things are just out of my control. It's starting to p*** me off, you know."
The Frenchman went on to add: "The clutch, it needs a redesign because at the moment it's too fragile. It's not coping well with temperatures. Yeah, it's a real struggle."
Hadjar explains Verstappen confusion during US GP
During the United States GP, Hadjar initially resisted Red Bull's instruction to let his teammate Max Verstappen through, fearing it would compromise his own race.
It came at a point after Verstappen had made an early pitstop, with Hadjar yet to make a stop of his own. The delay left Verstappen frustrated as he criticised Red Bull for leaving him stuck in his teammate's dirty air.
Explaining the confusion after the race, Hadjar said: "The problem is, in the end, on my side, I realised it's a one-stop race. And on their side, they're like, 'Oh, it's a one-stop race,' and had already pitted.
"So again, he's coming by like a bullet behind me, and it's a confusing situation for both of us, and then I let him by. But I'm making him lose time because he's in my dirty air. I'm losing time because I have to let him by. And that's because we did not anticipate it was an easy one-stop."