Isack Hadjar Claims Carlos Sainz 'Knew What He Was Doing' After Shock Q1 Exit

Hadjar found himself in 16th place after the conclusion of the first qualifying session, only eight tenths away from getting through to Q2.

When interviewed by Sky Sports F1 after his elimination, Hadjar unveiled his issues with how things went - and how Williams' star Carlos Sainz played into it:

“The outlap was a mess, with Carlos [Sainz] - he was playing around a lot. I don’t know why he would go out on track with used tires, to just cruise around and p*** me off. I don’t know what the point was.”

“I ended up making a mistake on my lap, and that was it. It was my first mistake in qualifying in a while - s*** happens.”

Hadjar went on to state that he believed Sainz was intentionally attempting to inconvenience him, saying:

“Carlos was playing around, trying to make my life difficult on my outlap, then not really letting me by. I just don’t know what he was doing. He has his reasons - [I'm sure] he knows what he is doing.”

Racing Bulls to change components of Hadjar's car for the race

Speaking to RacingNews365, Hadjar confirmed he would be starting from last regardless of his performance, as the team is making multiple changes to his vehicle before race day.

"Yeah, [we're] changing everything [in the car]."

The Racing Bulls youngster will be starting from the pitlane, as any power unit changes incur a grid penalty.

If any further changes are made that break parc fermé rules, more penalties can be applied - hence the RB number 6 car taking to the pits for lights out.