Isack Hadjar helped teammate Max Verstappen twice during qualifying for the Belgian GP with a slipstream. The Dutchman managed to reach the front row partly thanks to the help of his teammate. For the Frenchman, who himself has to start the race at the back of the field due to a grid penalty, it was a small effort to ‘deliver’ the slipstream: ‘It was just like Deliveroo’.
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For Isack Hadjar, it was already clear before qualifying for the Belgian GP that there was no more to be gained than a starting position at the back of the field. The French-Algerian driver received a grid penalty of no less than thirty places because several parts of his engine were replaced. The Red Bull driver therefore dedicated his Q3 session at Spa entirely to helping his teammate Max Verstappen secure a good starting position.
And that last part succeeded: thanks to a slipstream from Hadjar, Verstappen achieved the front row. The Dutchman thanked his teammate after the session. For Hadjar, it was a small effort. “He decides where he wants it, and I deliver it. Just like Deliveroo!”, the Frenchman told Viaplay, drawing the comparison with the meal delivery company.
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Still, the two drivers had to practice a bit before Hadjar could help his teammate to P2 in the last fast lap. “The first time in Q3 was just to see how it would go,” he says. “The second time I timed it very well, but I had some problems with energy deployment. I could have taken him all the way to the bus stop chicane, but I had to let him pass, otherwise I would have hindered him.”
‘Only fun moment of qualifying’
The footage showed that Verstappen was driving very close behind his teammate, but the Dutchman said afterwards that he had full confidence in Hadjar. For the Frenchman himself, the moment was the most enjoyable part of the entire qualifying session. “It was very close,” Hadjar also says. “But honestly, that was the only fun moment of the entire qualifying session. The rest was just boring.”
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