Hadjar sees silver lining in Australian GP retirement, reveals call from Marko

The French driver, who was promoted to the Red Bull Racing outfit following an eventful cameo season with the sister outfit, Racing Bulls, saw his race at Albert Park cut short on the 11th lap due to an engine failure.

However, Hadjar, in his assessment of the outing, appears generally impressed with how he performed up until the engine trouble.

“I think I did just a bit better than I wanted and expected. I didn't have many laps in Bahrain. As for the first weekend, there were no mistakes made. I think even the race start was very sharp. I did my best until we had all the issues. It was a very good weekend to start, I would say,” Hadjar said to GPblog at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Pressed further about the feedback from the team that weekend, he replied:

Quizzed about whether he received a phone call from former Red Bull Racing advisor Helmut Marko, Hadjar playfully responded:

Hadjar, who endured several hiccups through pre-season testing, witnessed his maiden race with the Milton Keynes team come to an abrupt end due to what was diagnosed as a reliability problem.

Earlier, Hadjar’s teammate Max Verstappen outlined the team’s focus ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.

The four-time world champion noted the need for the Austrian outfit to focus on gathering data while improving the car and adjusting to the demands of the new regulations.

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