Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar has explained what caused his crash on Tuesday at the Barcelona Formula 1 shakedown.
The new Red Bull driver suffered the only major accident of the shakedown week at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, as he went off at the final corner late on Tuesday in wet conditions.
Hadjar’s Red Bull car reportedly suffered heavy rear-end damage which required the team to bring in replacement parts ahead of its final day of running permitted, having already completed its opening two days on Monday and Tuesday.
Red Bull duly returned to the track action on Friday, with Max Verstappen at the wheel all day as he completed 118 laps to push the team’s combined total to 303 laps for the shakedown.
Hadjar said his off was triggered by switching from wet to intermediate tyres on the rain-soaked track.
“It was nice to have a good day on Monday,” began Hadjar, who still notched up 158 laps before his crash. “It was very productive and we managed to do a lot more laps than we had expected, everything went pretty smooth and we had only minor issues. It was quite impressive considering it was our first day with our own power unit.
“Unfortunately, on Tuesday, just after switching from wets to inters, I lost control of the car in the final corner and I know the aftermath wasn’t ideal for the team.
“The positive is that I have already started to understand and work on things in the car, there are still a lot of things to tweak of course, but it has been steady so far.
“These cars are different, very different, there is definitely a lot less load in general and it is a bit more predictable compared to the previous generation, they are a bit more straightforward. It is easier to play around with them and on the PU [power unit] side there are a lot more options for the driver to play with.
“I couldn’t have prepared for this season any better and I am hoping to come into the year strongly, but we are definitely not done with the work yet, I am learning every day."
Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies has fully backed his new driver, who was promoted to the senior team at the expense of Yuki Tsunoda over the winter after just one season in F1, and is confident the French driver will still take a positive learning experience from the shakedown.
“We got more than a hundred laps in on Monday with Isack, which was a positive day and then Tuesday was a bit more difficult for us,” Mekies said. “Max ran in the morning and only got one long run in before the rain came, but we felt it would be good learning and interesting to run in the wet with this new generation of cars.
“We switched to Isack in the afternoon and there was no chance for dry tyres, but we got some good data in the wet. He went off at the end of the day, in what were very tricky conditions and with a lot of things still to get right on the car side.
“It was unfortunate, but these things happen and it came after a very positive day on Monday for him. The number of laps Isack completed and the development and learning he and the team gained cannot be underestimated.”
Mekies also lauded Red Bull’s mechanics and engineers for getting the RB22 car back on track on Friday to complete its first test with its new Ford-backed Red Bull Powertrains engine.
“It was an incredible job by the team trackside and back on campus to get RB22 back on track for Friday, there have been some long nights to ensure we got a third day of running,” he explained. “Max was in the car all day and he too got over 100 laps on the clock, giving insightful and beyond valuable feedback, as we continue to learn about this new car and PU.
“We have a lot to take away from this week and Max's experience and detail with engineering will help us shape the preparations for Bahrain and beyond. In terms of what we were expecting from the power unit in these first three days, I can only stress how proud we are of everyone back at base who delivered us this PU.
“Ford were here trackside to see everything come to life and it's a big thanks to them for their part and support in this special story.
“Of course, it is very early days and nothing is perfect but we have started to learn already and work as one team on this. It was a great satisfaction, but it doesn't change the magnitude of the journey ahead of us. We know we have to do our homework and take things step by step.”
