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Carlos Sainz fumes at Isack Hadjar for “destroying” F1 Canadian GP qualifying

Carlos Sainz was left fuming after he claimed Isack Hadjar impeded him during qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix, which meant Williams driver was eliminated in Q1.

Having looked strong over practice, Sainz felt his race weekend was left in tatters by Hadjar and hit out at the Racing Bulls driver over team radio. The Frenchman defended his driving and claimed that he thought Sainz had aborted his lap.

Sainz missed out on Q2 by less than a tenth of a second and was still upset when speaking to the media following his elimination.

“Well, I don't care if I was fast. If in Q1 you arrive and there's a guy in the middle of the road that completely blows your qualifying away and that means that your weekend is destroyed,” he said.

“I'm in P17 when I should be fighting for Q3 and top eight today, so I'm extremely disappointed.

Carlos Sainz, Williams (Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images)

“I saw him already in turn three to four, I was surprised he didn't get out of the way in three to four. I already lost a tenth or two with a dirty air, but I was like, ‘okay, he's just playing the game of giving me dirty air.’

“That's not impeding, but he's giving me dirty air of a tenth just to try, maybe he was on the cut and trying to give me dirty air on purpose.

“And then I realised going into Turn 5, he's not getting out of the way, I have to lift and I have to overtake him in the inside of six. Like if it's a race, obviously with a bad angle into six and seven.

"I lost another two or three tenths there, so three or four tenths just in that lap, which is anyway a lap that is 20 milliseconds from Q2. That was the margin we had today.

“So, it’s honestly very frustrating, but it's what it is.”

Asked what he could achieve in the race while starting so far back, Sainz offered a bullish response: “I don't care about tomorrow right now, my brain is on how disappointed I am with today's outcome because I was 20 milliseconds off Q2 and I got impeded. Basically, I had to do a wet line in a corner.

“Honestly, I don't care right now, we've been quick all weekend, we were quick in race pace, but we're still not where we want to be.”

Hadjar, meanwhile, impressed once again as he eventually progressed through to Q3 qualifying in ninth. But, he was still left a little downbeat as the Frenchman took responsibility on behalf of his team for the incident. 

“I never impede anyone, not even in practice,” said Hadjar, “I got told Carlos had aborted his lap, and in fact he was still pushing. So, complete miscommunication from what I got told. It's a shame, it ruins his qualifying and probably a bit mine.”

Photos from Canadian GP - Practice & Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

George Russell, Mercedes

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Alex Albon, Williams

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Carlos Sainz, Williams

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Lando Norris, McLaren

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Pierre Gasly, Alpine

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Lando Norris, McLaren

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Williams pit crew

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

2025 Canadian Grand Prix - Saturday

Formula 1
26

 

In this article
Mark Mann-Bryans
Formula 1
Carlos Sainz
Williams
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