Isack Hadjar has revealed that he agrees with the two heavy penalties he received during the Canadian Grand Prix, in his latest brutal self-assessment.
Hadjar had looked strong in most sessions leading up to the grand prix, although he struggled for pace throughout the race compared to the frontrunners.
He still salvaged his best result of the season with fifth place, although it was aided by George Russell retiring and both McLaren drivers enduring a strategic nightmare.
It ultimately proved to be a lonely fifth-place finish for the Red Bull driver, who received two major penalties. Hadjar was first handed a 10-second time penalty for changing direction too many times while defending against Charles Leclerc, resulting in a frightening near-miss along the back straight.
Shortly afterwards, Hadjar received a 10-second stop/go penalty for failing to slow under yellow flags. It cost the Frenchman significant time, although he accepted that he was at fault.
Asked for his view on the penalties, Hadjar told select media, including ApexF1News, after the race: “I don’t mind the penalties, I think they’re fair.
“It’s just that I don’t really understand where the pace went, because I really felt like I was struggling a lot out there. So yeah, on Saturday I felt great in the car, and now it’s very hard to drive.”
Hadjar issues Leclerc apology
The incident with Leclerc while fighting for fourth was one that could have ended in a huge accident, with the Monegasque virtually on the grass at over 200 mph.
Hadjar accepted that he defended too aggressively and was in the wrong, revealing that he apologised to the Ferrari driver.
Discussing the incident with Leclerc, Hadjar explained: “I was too harsh. Honestly, if anything, it wasn’t even on purpose. I just got confused about where he was heading, so I didn’t mean to send him onto the grass.
“Obviously, he’s a very clean driver. So if anything, I just apologised, because it was a bit stupid.”
