Carlos Sainz Says Rookie 'Destroyed' His Qualifying With Reckless Block in Canada

Carlos Sainz didn’t hold back after a frustrating Q1 exit at Canadian Grand Prix, lashing out at rookie Isack Hadjar for blocking him during a crucial flying lap.

The Williams driver was eliminated in the first phase of qualifying for the second race weekend in a row. Sainz caught traffic from Hadjar’s Racing Bulls just as he was building a lap he believed would have easily put him into Q2, and possibly Q3.

“I’m in P17 when I should be fighting for Q3 and top eight, so I’m extremely disappointed,” Sainz fumed. “There’s a guy in the middle of the road that completely blows your qualifying away and that means your weekend is destroyed.”

Hadjar was later handed a three-place grid penalty by the stewards for impeding Sainz. But that did little to ease the Spaniard’s frustration.

Sainz explained that he first noticed Hadjar through Turns 3 and 4, suspecting the rookie was playing tactical games by giving him dirty air. “That’s not impeding, but he’s giving me a tenth of dirty air just to try, maybe he was on the cut and trying to give me dirty air on purpose,” Sainz said.