Mar.17 (GMM) Opinions are break up over what Dr Helmut Marko described as rookie Isack Hadjar’s “tearful present” in Melbourne on Sunday.
After the brand new Racing Bulls driver impressed in observe and qualifying, he was past consoling after crashing even earlier than he accomplished the formation lap for the Australian GP.
The world watched the 20-year-old French-Algerian cry all the way in which from his crashed automobile to the paddock, with Lewis Hamilton’s father Anthony dashing to supply him encouragement.
“Which means quite a bit to me,” Hadjar mentioned later. “He knew precisely how I felt, how depressed I used to be, and got here to me at my worst second.”
He additionally revealed that F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali popped into the junior Crimson Bull workforce’s amenities at Albert Park to place an arm round Hadjar.
“It was very sort of them,” Hadjar, the 2024 System 2 runner-up, mentioned. “They’ve seen many drivers undergo such lows, and to return to me like that basically may be very sort.”
Hadjar described not even managing to get his automobile onto the slippery Melbourne grid as “merely embarrassing”. “That was actually the worst second of my life,” he added.
Nonetheless, Crimson Bull’s notoriously powerful advisor and driver supervisor, Dr Helmut Marko, thinks Hadjar ought to have been embarrassed for an additional cause.
The 81-year-old mentioned the most recent Crimson Bull rookie in System 1 “placed on a tearful present” in Australia, including with fun: “That was a bit embarrassing.”
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher was unimpressed with Marko’s angle.
“I wouldn’t have cried myself,” the German informed Sky Deutschland, “however it is a very laborious second for a younger driver.
“It was his first race, and up till that second he had put in a incredible efficiency. Then it’s terrible once you let your workforce down on the finish.
“At Crimson Bull, you shortly grow to be afraid of your future, given Helmut’s fame. And actually, I don’t know what’s embarrassing about crying.”
Hadjar, nevertheless, discovered assist within the type of Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer, who mentioned: “I feel this will occur to anybody in these circumstances. One small, minimal mistake, and it’s throughout.
“Now we’re trying forward. We now have one other race subsequent week.”
Hadjar responded: “It’s good to see that I’m getting this assist from the workforce. It means quite a bit to me.”
One other former F1 driver, Heikki Kovalainen, had a special tackle the matter.
“I admit that I don’t actually like these sorts of crying tales,” the Finn informed Viaplay. “This can be a powerful recreation, and the psychological edge must be laborious. And crying gained’t assist.”
Hadjar concluded: “I’ve had comparable lows, however this one is especially powerful.
“My path to System 1 wasn’t simple – it was fairly brutal. I’d say I’ve a powerful chin, however this one actually hits me.”