Racing Bulls drivers Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson are targeting a positive weekend in Austria after a disappointing Canadian GP.
Isack Hadjar faced an uphill battle to progress at the Canadian GP. Intitally qualifying ninth, he started the race in 12th, following a grid penalty for impeding Carlos Sainz.
While opportunity existed in the race to move forward, Hadjar was hindered by his strategy. Suffering from graining, he opted for a long first stint. This saw the young Frenchman fall backwards through the field.
The end result was a disappointing 16th place at the chequered flag. He finished a lap down with only the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll behind him.
Speaking to media after the race, Hadjar admitted the failings in his team’s strategy. He also offered insight into the reasons behind his poor performance.
“I think we just pitted a bit too late. We had high graining at the start of the race and we lost a few positions in the pits”, he said.
“I think since the start of the weekend, even [on Saturday] I was not happy with the car,” the 20-year-old said. “I feel like on the one lap I can kind of make a difference, but over 70 laps there’s no chance.”
How Racing Bulls’ poor Canadian GP also affected Lawson
Team-mate Liam Lawson also endured a challenging Canadian GP. A Q1 elimination led to the team breaking Parc Ferme regulations by fitting new components to his car, including a new Honda power unit.
This led to Lawson starting from the pit lane. Unable to make progress, he retired with a colling issue during the closing stages of the race. The New-Zealander did not hide his frustrations at the result in Canada.
“It’s disappointing. I think obviously it was going to be a very difficult race anyway from the pit lane, but we had a cooling issue at the end so unfortunately we had to retire. It’s just been a tough weekend, which is a shame.”
Revealing more detail behind his weekend, Lawson confirmed he is looking to bounce back at this weekend’s Austrian GP.
“[It] was a pretty specific thing we struggled with in Qualifying, but the pace of the car was actually quite good,” said Lawson.
“And then obviously what happened in the race today is a little bit out of our control, so it’s a shame but obviously we’ve just got to keep resetting and looking ahead.”
