The Red Bull car issue that hampered Isack Hadjar's F1 Austrian GP qualifying

Red Bull Formula 1 driver Isack Hadjar was left frustrated in Austrian Grand Prix qualifying as he struggled with the feel of the brakes of his RB22 car. 

The Frenchman was heard complaining on team radio in FP3, and the issue continued into qualifying, in which he earned P8.

In essence the car was not co-operating with his usual hard braking style, and he had to be gentler with the pedal than he was comfortable with.

Red Bull also experienced some power unit issues on Friday, notably at Turn 3, where the revs dropped at the apex and made getting out of the corner less effective.

“Way better today,” said Hadjar when asked about that problem after qualifying. “Still not our strong point at all, but I'm struggling more on the brakes, if anything. Deployment on the straight, I'm not very happy with how it's been optimised for qualifying.”

Asked by Crash.net to expand on the brake issue he confirmed that he couldn’t drive in his usual manner.

“Just can't smash the brakes, really,” he said. “I'm a late braker, heavy braker, and this weekend I have not been able to use any of that. Then it compromised the whole rest of the corner. You can't brake, you can't do anything.

“I lock everything – no feel for tyre vibrations. So I just feel like resting my foot is enough to make the car stop, which I don't really enjoy.”

Regarding the Turn 3 issues he said: “It's not unusual. It's hard, it's the nature of the track, and with these cars, with a lot less downforce compared to last year. 

“These things happen. We're not the only team struggling, we're struggling more than other cars. You saw Lando spinning in this corner yesterday, so just shows how hard it is to get it pinned on the rear.”

Asked what he thought of the latest upgrades he said: “Not good – I'm not fast.”