Singapore GP: Isack Hadjar’s qualifying nightmare continues as Red Bull reliability failures mount
Isack Hadjar’s Singapore Grand Prix weekend has spiraled into a full-blown catastrophe, with the 21-year-old Red Bull driver left fuming after persistent mechanical failures effectively erased his chances in qualifying.
The Frenchman’s misery began earlier in the weekend, having been forced to retire from the sprint race due to a mechanical fault—a bitter pill to swallow just days after a battery issue robbed him of a podium finish in Malaysia. While his garage crew worked tirelessly to repair the car for Saturday’s session, their efforts were ultimately in vain as Hadjar’s qualifying bid ended before it even began.
The nightmare unfolded in Q1 when Hadjar ground to a halt on the Marina Bay Street Circuit, failing to log a single timed lap. Although he managed to limp back to the pits, the recovery proved short-lived. Upon re-emerging, a terminal gearbox failure struck, sealing his fate at the back of the grid.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, a visibly frustrated Hadjar dismissed suggestions that knowing the fault was out of his control made the situation any easier to handle. “No, I want to drive. Honestly, I don’t care about P22. I just want to get out there and do my thing,” he said. “I have plenty of soft tyres in the garage right now that are not going to be used. And that’s what pisses me off the most right now. I just want to be there and fight with the other guys.”
With Marina Bay notoriously difficult for overtaking, Hadjar is now pushing for a complete overhaul of his car’s components to ensure reliability for Sunday’s race. “We need stuff that is new,” he insisted. “Tomorrow is an opportunity, obviously, because everything is breaking apart this weekend. We need a fresh restart.”
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies stopped short of confirming a full engine component swap but issued a public apology for the team’s ongoing technical failings. “I would like to apologise to Isack, as he has had very limited running opportunities this weekend,” Mekies said. “The crew in the garage did a truly incredible job to get the car ready… but unfortunately, we then encountered a gearbox problem which we are still investigating.”
Mekies maintained a positive outlook, adding, “Starting from the back will make tomorrow difficult, but he has shown many times this season that he approaches every challenge in the right way.”
The situation is made significantly more painful by the contrast in the Red Bull garage. While Hadjar faces a long Sunday at the back of the pack, his teammate Max Verstappen secured a dominant pole position, highlighting the crushing reliability gap that has defined Hadjar’s weekend in Singapore.
Disclaimer: This content is auto-generated for informational purposes only.
Source: Read Original News
