Red Bull investigates Hadjar's problem and rules out a major cause

Hadjar endured a difficult first practice session on his return to Red Bull. The Frenchman reported brake issues early on, with the problem causing the car to pull heavily to one side and leaving him close to the wall.

Not much later in the session, he encountered new problems. He reported that the engine was cutting out and that he had lost fifth gear. Red Bull then instructed him to stay in second gear and return to the garage. His RB22 remained there for the rest of the session.

GPblog understands that Red Bull is still working after FP1 to determine the exact cause of the problems. The power unit has been ruled out as the cause. Laurent Mekies confirmed that after the session to the German branch of Sky Sports. More information about the issue Hadjar faced may follow later on Thursday. Mekies will appear at 12:30 p.m. CEST at the official FIA press conference, one hour after the end of FP1.

Hadjar was not the only Red Bull driver to report issues during first practice. Max Verstappen said in the opening phase that his RB22 was pulling to the right on the straight. He was able to continue his program and finished FP1, in which many teams had issues, second behind George Russell and ahead of Charles Leclerc.