Formula 1 rookie Isack Hadjar says he is rarely as angry as the furious radio outbursts last year make him seem.
The Racing Bulls driver vented his frustration on several occasions last year during an often frustrating Formula 2 campaign. He finished the year second in the championship but was often dogged by misfortune.
Several of Hadjar’s irate radio messages were broadcast during the races, but he says he is much calmer than they make him appear.
“Certain drivers say ‘when I put the visor down, I’m a different person, different animal’,” Hadjar told the official F1 channel. “Honestly, I feel really composed when I drive.
“I think a lot. I’m aware of the danger. I wouldn’t say I am different to the guy on the outside.
“Maybe I am less aggressive than what people think. But obviously the radio button makes me look like a really angry guy.”
“I know I’m passionate, that’s for sure, and angry at times,” he added.
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Hadjar said he was relieved to get a second season in F2 last year after finishing 14th in his rookie campaign the year before.
“I got to be part of Red Bull for another year,” he said, “but they were clear about it, it was the last chance to make it to F1.
“They put me at Campos, they decided it, but then when I looked at the season and previous years, I really saw potential in the team. [I thought] with a stronger driver, they could maybe deliver some really good races.”
His season got off to a difficult start. Hadjar was taken out by Gabriel Bortoleto in the first feature race of the year then suffered technical problems in both races at the next round.
“It started really wrong,” he said. “I had all the pace in the world, right, but I couldn’t get the results.”
However he rebounded soon afterwards, winning both races in Australia on the road, but losing one due to a contentious penalty. “I thought F1 was pretty much over, even though there was like a lot of rounds left, you don’t turn around and things like this,” he said. “But actually we did from Melbourne and we had mega momentum.”
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One of Hadjar’s angriest outbursts occured in Monaco, where he was on course to score his third consecutive feature race win, but lost the lead when rival Zak O’Sullivan was able to save time by pitting during a late Virtual Safety Car period.
“It was a very tough day in the office,” he said. “You jump out of the car after a tough session, you’ve got [Red Bull motorsport consultant] Helmut Marko waiting for explanations and everything, because sometimes you didn’t do [anything] wrong but it’s really a tricky situation. Plus the fact that you’re disappointed yourself.
“Unfortunately, it’s not really an individual sport, there’s much more involved so it takes a lot to mentally be ready.”
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