Hadjar admits he should have bitten his tongue over Red Bull criticism
Photo: Race Pictures
Tobia is a Formula 1 journalist at GPblog with experience at international circuits. Since 2022, he has covered Grands Prix across Europe, delivering reliable coverage and insights from the paddock.
Isack Hadjar has admitted that some of his criticism of Red Bull following the United States Grand Prix should have remained private. The Frenchman has reflected on his comments ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix, while also revealing how the team's analysis of the Austin race exposed a mistake in its strategic approach.
Hadjar reconsiders Red Bull criticism after Austin frustration
The Red Bull driver endured a difficult race at the Circuit of the Americas, finishing sixth despite qualifying third. A poor start immediately compromised his chances, before strategic confusion created further problems during the Grand Prix.
One of the most controversial moments came when Hadjar initially refused to let Max Verstappen through during the second stint. The Dutchman was running a two-stop strategy and had already changed tyres, while Hadjar was still considering the possibility of completing the race with a single stop. The Frenchman eventually moved aside, but the delay prompted a frustrated radio message from Verstappen.
Hadjar subsequently criticised the team's failure to anticipate how effective a one-stop strategy would be. His frustration was compounded by communication problems, which left him struggling to understand instructions from his engineer.
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Asked about his comments during Thursday's media day in Mexico City, Hadjar acknowledged that he should have been more careful with his words: "I didn't really think. We need to be honest with ourselves as well, but there’s stuff that I should have kept for myself. I know that."
Photo: Race Pictures
Hadjar reveals what Red Bull got wrong in Austin
Although Hadjar reconsidered how he expressed his frustration, Red Bull's subsequent analysis of the race indicated that the team could have approached its strategy differently.
The Frenchman explained that the team had underestimated the possibility of completing the race with just one pit stop, having expected greater tyre degradation.
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"I think that, as a team, we were probably not open-minded enough to the one-stop strategy. In a way, we were very convinced that the softer compound was working better. Maybe we thought the degradation was higher than it actually was and once you start with this, we put ourselves in a difficult situation."
The assessment comes after Verstappen also questioned Red Bull's strategic decisions during the race, with the four-time world champion ultimately finishing third behind Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc.
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