Isack Hadjar fumes after 'stupid' battery glitch cost him a Bahrain GP podium
A costly battery issue left Isack Hadjar unable to defend against Ferrari at the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
Isack Hadjar had shown promising pace in the build-up to the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, after securing a podium the week before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The French driver qualified in third place, but due to a grid penalty, he was relegated to eighth place on the grid at the Sepang International Circuit.
Like his teammate, Hadjar started the Grand Prix on intermediate tyres, which was the correct choice for the conditions at the time after the lengthy delay.
Despite the difficult conditions, the Formula 1 rookie was able to have a good race in Malaysia, as he was in fourth place before the final safety car came out in the latter part of the race.
He was then promoted to third place and onto the podium after George Russell suffered a PU issue directly in front of him. However, after the safety car period ended, Hadjar suffered an issue with his battery and lost places to the Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
At the chequered flag, Hadjar crossed the line in fifth place, and was disappointed after losing out on what he thought was going to be another podium.
Hadjar explained, "I had no pace, but something was wrong. Even compared to Mercedes, where the whole weekend we were quicker. And now, in the race, we're absolutely nowhere.
“I don't know how we ended up having no battery. So in the straights, I can't defend against the Ferraris. We lose the position on something so stupid.
"Hamilton was 15 seconds behind me, and then in a couple of laps he was behind me. So when, the whole weekend I was really faster. We need to fix the issue back in Singapore and do better.”
When discussing his safety car restart, Hadjar mentioned the battery issues once again, but also revealed that he was suffering from grip issues, even when he was following the safety car.
He stated, "It's just the first two laps of the restart, I don't know why we were so down on the battery. Then it stabilised itself, and then I was fast again. Otherwise, I would have kept third.
“But it's just the grip. Even behind the safety car, I was feeling that I had no grip and it was going to be a tough restart for me, so it felt like I was always on the same tyres. I came back on the wrong compound."
Hadjar had to watch as his teammate, Max Verstappen, claimed Red Bull's first win of the season after he started from pole position.
