Isack Hadjar was especially pleased with his qualifying effort after suffering pain in a sensitive area during qualifying.
The Racing Bulls driver took seventh on the grid for the Japanese Grand Prix. However he experienced severe discomfort early in the session, particularly during Q1, where he became concerned he might be eliminated.
Hadjar explained afterwards he was in pain due to the position of a seat belt strap which was holding him in place in the car. The problem surfaced during final practice earlier in the day but wasn’t solved before qualifying.
“It compromised my first run in Q1,” he told the official F1 channel. “Then it was drive-able, thankfully, on that final lap in Q1 to get through to Q2.
“But I was in pain a bit and then for the rest I could reset and just focus on driving fast and it worked.”
Hadjar reached Q3, unlike his team mate Liam Lawson, and went on to beat Lewis Hamilton to seventh on the grid. He described his final lap as “Nearly fantastic.”
“I left, like, a whole tenth in the final chicane, so quite disappointed with that, but the rest was fantastic.”
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Hadjar’s radio messages on his seat belt problem
Hadjar alerted his race engineer Pierre Hamelin to the problem following his first run in Q1. They tried to fix it between his two runs, but lost time as he was called at random to visit the weigh bridge:
| Hadjar | Still same issue, man. Still same issue. In the cockpit. |
| Hamelin | Charge off. Reminder, SOC toggle. |
| Hamelin | SOC toggle on. |
| Hamelin | Box, box. Push on your in-lap. |
| Hamelin | Offset forwards. |
| Hadjar | Yeah… |
| Hamelin | Okay so Liam did a 29.0, your lap time 29.2. |
| Hadjar | I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Fucking hell. |
| Hamelin | Okay we’ll try to adjust it in the garage. Keep your pace up. |
| Hadjar | I mean I just can’t focus, I have so much lap time. It’s just not drive-able. |
| Hamelin | Understood, Isack. We’ll try to reposition it in the garage. |
| Hamelin | What about the flap, Isack? |
| Hadjar | Yeah I’m happy. |
| Hamelin | Copy that. |
| Hadjar | It’s not the main issue. |
| Hamelin | Understood, we’ll help you. We will help you in the garage. We’ll do everything we can. |
| Hamelin | You’re on the bridge. |
| Hadjar | The belts are twisted, you know? |
| Hamelin | Okay, we’ll help you. |
As he headed out to begin his final run in Q1, Hadjar was dismayed to discover the problem had not been solved:
| Hadjar | If this is what ruins our qualifying, just so you know, I’m very sorry. |
| Hamelin | That’s okay I know you are doing your best on there. |
| Hadjar | Mate the issue is still here. I can’t believe it. Can’t believe it. |
| Hamelin | Copy that Isack. Sorry to hear that. Let’s try to nurse it. Try to do what you can in the back straight. |
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Despite his discomfort, Hadjar set a quick enough lap to reach Q2. His team agreed he could climb out of the car between the first two sessions in order to attempt another solution, which seemed to work:
| Hadjar | Mate it’s… I can’t believe that. |
| Hamelin | Okay do we need to jump out of the car quickly, question? |
| Hadjar | Yes |
| Hamelin | Okay, push on your way in, please, push on your way in. |
| Hadjar | Copy. |
| Hamelin | Okay. This will have to be quick, Isack. We’ll try to do something. |
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