Isack Hadjar’s tearful exit from the Australian Grand Prix has been labelled “embarrassing” by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko.
Hadjar, a rookie for Red Bull’s junior team Racing Bulls, crashed out on the formation lap, meaning he did not even start what was supposed to be his Formula 1 debut.
The French driver, 20, was in tears afterwards as he walked through the F1 paddock, where he was consoled by Anthony Hamilton, father of Lewis.
Marko, the man who oversees Red Bull’s young driver programme, was not impressed at what he saw.
In an interview with ORF, Marko said: “Isack Hadjar did a little bit of crying after his crash. That was a bit embarrassing.”
Hadjar’s encounter with Anthony Hamilton came shortly after he had posed for a selfie with Lewis Hamilton on the driver parade lap.
The youngster has repeatedly cited Hamilton as his racing hero.
Anthony Hamilton took a very different view of the moment than Marko.
“When I saw it happen, my heart just sank for him,” Hamilton Sr told Sky Sports. “Not just for him, for his parents, for everything they’ve done to work hard to get to this one point, and it’s like it’s snatched from you.
“I just felt terrible for him, so I thought ‘you know what, I need to go and tell this kid keep your head high, walk tall, you’re gonna come back’. I think he’s a phenomenal driver. I think there’s more to come from Isack than we probably have seen this weekend”.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner also took a sympathetic view.
“It was quite heart wrenching to see him so gutted in his first Grand Prix. I think the positives he needs to take out of it when he reflects on the weekend. He performed very well through the practices and the qualifying. You forget that these guys are just kids really.
“Obviously a lot of emotion for him today, but I think when he strips it back, there’s an awful lot of positives he can take out of the weekend. He’s got many bright days ahead of him.”
Before the crash, Hadjar had qualified an impressive 11th.
