The F1 world witnessed a chaotic season opener race in Melbourne, Australia Grand Prix, where Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar was the first to get caught by the damp and greasy circuit, crashing out of the competition during the formation lap.
Along his way to the paddock, he could not hold back his tears due to not being able to officially start his first F1 race. Hadjar’s F1 idol’s father Anthony Hamilton comforted him in the paddock while the media televised this special moment.
Nevertheless, the French-Algerian driver faced harsh criticism from Helmut Marko, the senior advisor of Red Bull’s driver development program, claiming Hadjar’s tears were “embarrassing.”
Though Hadjar remarked that “it’s all good” between Marko and him, the Austrian’s approach drew reactions from many after the race. The team principal of Red Bull Christian Horner also commented on these unsympathetic statements almost a week later during the Chinese Grand Prix.
Has every right to share his opinion
Helmut Marko’s harsh and offensive criticism of F1 drivers has been an issue of the sport for years now, such as his previous comments on former driver of Red Bull, Sergio Perez. While Horner accepted that Marko’s remarks on Racing Bulls’ young driver carried an old-fashioned sense of F1, he mentioned that the advisor of the team had every right to criticize considering his experience in the sport.
The British team principal told Sky F1 that no one is obliged to agree with the 82-year-old, but this is not a reason for the Austrian to stop himself from sharing his opinions.
“Look, Helmut’s 82 years of age. He’s old school.
“He’s a guy who lost an eye and pulled over the car and just turned the engine off.
“He will always have his own opinion which he has the right to. Does everybody share that opinion? No.”
A bright future ahead of his way
Though Hadjar’s debut race was not ideal for any F1 driver to start their career at the top of the sport, Horner expressed that he is still too young and a bright future awaits him. He said that criticism towards drivers tends to ignore how young they are, which leads to approaches like Marko’s.
Nonetheless, Horner reflected that seeing Hadjar getting emotional was upsetting. However, he does not doubt that the Racing Bulls F1 team supported their driver.
“It was very sad to see him that upset. No doubt his team have got around him.
But you forget how young they are. He’s 20 years of age, and he’s got a bright future ahead of him. He’ll be fine.”
The comments might have been reinterpreted differently
After the critiques of Marko, Hadjar elaborated that the situation was also embarrassing for him. He stated that the two had a phone call the next day which went all good. Furthermore, Hadjar noted that he did not see the footage of Marko making those comments and he believed that Marko speaking in German might have resulted in a different interpretation of what he wanted to actually convey. Alongside the criticism, Hadjar faced immense support from not only the Racing Bulls F1 team but also the F1 community as well.
“I found it embarrassing myself.
“I know Helmut [Marko]. I had him on the phone a day later, all good. I’ve known him since a few years now. I know how he works.
“And also another point, I think he said that speaking German, he was reinterpreted differently. You don’t know about the body language. I didn’t see the footage, I can’t say much, but apart from that.
“And honestly, all the love from the fans and the people, I did not expect that at all when I binned it in the wall, so that was nice.”
