Guenther Steiner says Isack Hadjar’s Miami anger shows pressure of being Max Verstappen’s teammate

Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images

Guenther Steiner’s reaction to Isack Hadjar’s frustration was simple: ‘Max does that to you.’

Hadjar had shown promise earlier in the weekend, making it into SQ3 on Friday before just missing out on points in the shortened race. He qualified ninth for the main event but was later excluded for a technical infringement.

But before he crashed out at sector two’s chicane, he had already fallen well behind Verstappen. After keeping pace with him in earlier rounds, Hadjar ended up more than eight-tenths slower during Grand Prix qualifying.

Isack Hadjar ‘lost control of himself’ after Miami Grand Prix crash

Speaking on the Red Flags podcast, Steiner didn’t sound too optimistic about Hadjar’s future. He doesn’t see the Frenchman as the one to break Red Bull’s long-standing issues with their second seat.

Onboard cameras caught Hadjar repeatedly hitting his steering wheel and helmet in frustration after the crash. He’s shown this kind of reaction before, but Steiner believes it reflects the pressure that comes with being Verstappen’s teammate.

“In Miami, he didn’t do a good job compared to Max,” said Steiner. “It’s back to the old thing now. We know all the history there. It’s a Max show at Red Bull.

“Will it change? I think we were hoping [it would]. I do not think it will change.

“We saw Hadjar, his emotional outburst. Now you’ve crashed, there’s no point in hurting yourself by hitting the steering wheel. He lost control of himself, but I think Max does that to you. I wouldn’t like to work with Max!”

There are also suggestions that Red Bull’s recent upgrades might have shifted car development more toward Verstappen’s preferences than Hadjar’s, though it’s still too early to say for certain.