Race start issues hit Red Bull again at Silverstone: 'New problem every time'

Both Hadjar and Max Verstappen lost several positions off the line at the start of the British Grand Prix Sprint. The issue was not as severe as it had been at the Monaco Grand Prix, where Verstappen could barely get off the line, but the Dutchman still dropped to P7, while Hadjar fell outside the top 10. In the end, the Frenchman was unable to recover into the points.

Hadjar gave a worrying response after Qualifying when speaking to GPblog, among others, at Silverstone. He explained: "Yeah, it's a new problem every time. [On Friday], we had very good [practice] starts, for instance."

Addressing the car's performance, Hadjar explained that he felt better behind the wheel, but that did not translate into pace compared to the frontrunning teams. The Frenchman said: "I feel good with my car, it's just that we're lacking a bit of pace everywhere. It's not one place that we are so [bad], or one that will have very fast, just a bit everywhere.

During the Sprint, Hadjar was also involved in a hard-fought battle with Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson. He added that he did not call for a penalty after the New Zealander was investigated by the stewards for moving under braking. In the end, Lawson was handed a warning.

"I get along fine with him and just had a close moment. I never asked for him to be penalized. The team did, I didn't. It's always one point, but honestly that was fun," Hadjar concluded at Silverstone.

Verstappen was not satisfied with his result in Qualifying for the British Grand Prix, after he only set the seventh quickest time.

"We tried, but in terms of set-up we didn’t really improve anything. On top of that, we’re simply slow on the straights. Somehow there seems to be something wrong with the engine. That’s my biggest concern for tomorrow," Verstappen commented after the session.

The Red Bull Racing driver would therefore prefer Red Bull to intervene before the Grand Prix, even if it costs him grid positions: "Yes, preferably. If you stay here, you’ll just keep running here. Then you might gain one spot back. In that regard, I’d rather we do make some changes. It just isn’t running. We’re too slow on every straight."