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James Hinchcliffe has shared his concerns over Isack Hadjar potentially setting a ‘trend’ with his results in F1 now that Max Verstappen is more ‘comfortable’ in his Red Bull RB22.
During the first three rounds of his tenure at Red Bull, Isack Hadjar impressed with his pace as he looked somewhat on par with Max Verstappen. However, the Miami Grand Prix proved to be of stark contrast, with a sizeable gap between the two Red Bull stars emerging.
Isack Hadjar blames Red Bull’s chassis for their poor start to 2026 – Are you surprised that their engine has not been the biggest issue?
Before being disqualified for a technical infringement, Hadjar’s best effort in qualifying put him at P8 on the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix. Verstappen, on the other hand, started from the front row in P2, setting a time nearly one second faster than his teammate.
The curious case of Red Bull’s second seat has been under the magnifying glass inside the F1 paddock for several years now, and while it is still very much early days for Hadjar, the most recent race weekend was the biggest indication of a similar fate for the Frenchman.
Sprint qualifying was a similar story for the 21-year-old in South Beach, and Hadjar’s post-session comments sounded a lot like Verstappen’s former teammates.
- READ MORE: Guenther Steiner says Isack Hadjar Miami ‘outburst’ shows what Max Verstappen does to his teammates
James Hinchcliffe shares concerns over potential Isack Hadjar ‘trend’ in F1
During an appearance on the Drive to Wynn podcast, F1 pundit James Hinchcliffe revealed his fears over Hadjar’s future at Red Bull now that Verstappen is starting to look more comfortable in the team’s 2026 F1 car.
Red Bull brought a swathe of upgrades to Miami, and it has been theorised that the new parts are more aligned with Verstappen’s driving style rather than his younger teammate.
Are you worried about Isack Hadjar after his reaction to crashing in Miami?
The Canadian began by voicing his thoughts on the matter, saying, “One of the things that came out this weekend was in the raft of upgrades that Red Bull brought.
“A lot of performance pieces, sure, but there was actually a fundamental change to the steering system that was requested by Max. He’s been complaining of the feeling essentially through the front of the car, through the steering wheel.
“The front end was not giving him the feedback that he wanted. It wasn’t something as simple as I need more grip; it’s a specific feel, something dynamic in the steering system.
“They were able to make some changes over the break for Miami, and all of a sudden, Max doesn’t feel like a passenger anymore. He’s got control of the car, and the car is responding to his inputs the way that he wants. All of a sudden, the gap to Hadjar grows significantly.”
- READ MORE: Juan Pablo Montoya says Isack Hadjar’s Miami Grand Prix crash will ‘haunt’ him if he’s not careful
Hinchcliffe then noted how Hadjar’s stint at Red Bull is still very much in its infancy, but warned of it potentially becoming a trend in the future if the four-time world champion continues to get to grips with his set-ups.
“The kid’s still young,” he asserted, before adding, “This is only one bad race weekend. It was not great, but it’s not a trend yet.
“But I do wonder if it is the start of one because now that Max is happy in the car, Max has always just been able to pull more pace out of a race car than anybody else.
“So now that he’s again comfortable and it’s doing what he wants it to do, he can make it do these things that seemingly no one else can.
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