{"id":31533,"date":"2025-03-16T11:02:32","date_gmt":"2025-03-16T15:02:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=31533"},"modified":"2025-03-16T11:09:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T15:09:51","slug":"helmut-marko-not-moved-by-embarrassing-hadjar-tears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/03\/16\/helmut-marko-not-moved-by-embarrassing-hadjar-tears\/","title":{"rendered":"Helmut Marko not moved by &#8220;embarrassing&#8221; Hadjar tears"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Red Bull&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/25\/helmut-marko-hamilton-can-continue-where-he-left-off-in-2021\/\" target=\"_self\">Helmut Marko<\/a> is known for his blunt assessments and unfiltered opinions. <strong>His latest statements are no exception<\/strong>, with the 81-year-old describing the images of Isack Hadjar crying after his formation lap spin as &#8220;embarrassing&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>It is no secret that <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/03\/08\/red-bull-gap-to-mclaren-likely-increased-over-winter-break\/\" target=\"_self\">Red Bull<\/a> juniors are under immense pressure to perform, more so than most F1 rookies.<\/p>\n<p>Understandably, Hadjar was devastated after committing such a costly error &#8211; and <strong>Marko&#8217;s response certainly won&#8217;t make things any better<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"frDm1Sx8T1t7PEnwOAYQVw\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2205317140\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'frDm1Sx8T1t7PEnwOAYQVw',sig:'f8J6JIv0pJouFX3geYZS-A4usvt8HauEHoAffjFxoBo=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2205317140',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4>Hadjar one of many casualties in Melbourne<\/h4>\n<p>Throughout the Australian GP weekend, every rookie driver can be attributed with highlights and low points.<\/p>\n<p>For Isack Hadjar&#8217;s part, the Frenchman was the highest placed rookie in qualifying &#8211; <strong>putting his VCARB in 11th and exceeding expectations<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Whilst the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/20\/lawson-it-doesnt-matter-if-red-bull-suits-my-driving-style\/\" target=\"_self\">Liam Lawson<\/a> struggled, Hadjar put together an impressive showing in his debut F1 qualifying.<\/p>\n<p>Up until race day, the 20-year-old could be credited with an almost error-free weekend.<\/p>\n<p>This all changed on the formation lap, when Hadjar dipped a wheel into the gravel and <strong>spun into the wall<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>What followed were quite emotional scenes of the VCARB driver, who was consoled by Anthony Hamilton (father or Lewis) in the paddock.<\/p>\n<p>Considering that Kimi Antonelli was the only rookie to see the chequered flag in Australia, it would be a mistake to look too deeply into Hadjar&#8217;s spin.<\/p>\n<p>One unforced error should not undermine all of his solid showings up until that stage.<\/p>\n<p>Helmut Marko, however, remarked to ORF that Hadjar <em>&#8220;<strong>put on a tearful show<\/strong>&#8220;<\/em> post-race, as quoted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.motorsport-total.com\/formel-1\/news\/melbourne-in-der-analyse-antonelli-bekommt-vierten-platz-zurueck-25031602?page=2\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">motorsport-total<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;<strong>That was a bit embarrassing<\/strong>&#8220;<\/em>, concluded the Red Bull advisor.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"I4VsSg9oQPx4NLnTK0zrug\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2205341344\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'I4VsSg9oQPx4NLnTK0zrug',sig:'EDGesbFAINA2LfPh-TZXs7Y_FZ5VkZmrbm_Gv4scf_E=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2205341344',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4>Hadjar self-critical after his unforced error<\/h4>\n<p>Like any young driver, Isack Hadjar was obviously under pressure to deliver in the season opener.<\/p>\n<p>Considering he was <strong>starting in P11 and within striking range of points<\/strong>, his mistake will sting more than it would otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>He spoke candidly about the incident with the media post-race:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;I feel embarrassed today, and <strong>I can only learn from my mistake and apologise to the team<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;There were tricky conditions out there, and from the installation laps, I felt very low grip and poor confidence.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;In the formation lap, <strong>I tried to prepare the tyres as much as I could<\/strong>. But unfortunately I had a spin, and the car was unsavable.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;I just felt like a passenger before hitting the wall. Now I look ahead to be ready to race in China next week.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"lTPyBge2QxdNnLDebEElgA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2205327390\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'lTPyBge2QxdNnLDebEElgA',sig:'lZruPrS4VIilGCrw24n1vDGk41Z56iooJ3I0RE3k1_Q=',w:'594px',h:'390px',items:'2205327390',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p>On the opposite side of the garage, poor VCARB strategy meant that <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/03\/15\/how-yuki-tsunoda-is-already-positioning-himself-for-2026\/\" target=\"_self\">Yuki Tsunoda<\/a> missed out on significant points.<\/p>\n<p>The good news for the Faenza-based team is that, at least for now, <strong>their 2025 challenger looks competitive<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Qualifying at Albert Park was proof that midfield teams like VCARB and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/03\/16\/carlos-sainz-became-alex-albons-strategist-in-australia-vowles\/\" target=\"_self\">Williams<\/a> can upset the front-runners.<\/p>\n<p>Considering that next weekend&#8217;s Chinese GP is a Sprint Race, a clean Free Practice and strong foundational set-up could provide a platform for a top 10 push.<\/p>\n<p>This will be tricky for a rookie like Hadjar. Still, his pace in Melbourne suggests <strong>he will have a chance to put the Australian GP behind him<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Red Bull&#8217;s Helmut Marko is known for his blunt assessments and unfiltered opinions. His latest statements are no exception, with the 81-year-old describing the images of Isack Hadjar crying after his formation lap spin as &#8220;embarrassing&#8221;. It is no secret that Red Bull juniors are under immense pressure to perform, more so than most F1 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4927,"featured_media":31556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[2452,610,1750,78,2246],"class_list":["post-31533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-f1-2025-season","tag-helmut-marko","tag-isack-hadjar","tag-red-bull-racing","tag-vcarb"],"modified_by":"Jaden Diaz-Ndisang","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4927"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31533"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31568,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31533\/revisions\/31568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}