Hadjar defends Marko’s criticism: ‘I found it embarrassing myself’

Isack Hadjar has defended comments from Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko about his behavior after the Formula 1 rookie crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix.

Speaking to Austrian broadcaster ORF in Melbourne, Marko said, “Isack Hadjar did a little bit of crying after his crash. That was a bit embarrassing.”

The comments stood out as Hadjar was receiving widespread support after crashing on the formation lap of his F1 debut, but ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix the Racing Bulls driver says he is in on good terms with Marko and has spoken with him since.

“I found it embarrassing myself,” Hadjar said. “And Helmut, I had him on the phone a day later and it’s all good. I’ve known him for a few years now. I know how he works.

“Also, another point, I think he said that he was speaking German. He was re-interpreted differently. You don’t know about the body language. I didn’t see the footage, so I can’t .

“But apart from that, I see all the love from the fans and the people. I did not expect that at all when I binned it in the wall. So that was nice.”

Hadjar revealed he also received support from Lewis Hamilton after Sunday’s incident, having been consoled by Hamilton’s father Anthony at the time.

“It reminded of Lewis actually parking the car at the pit entry in Shanghai. It was a nice moment, sharing time with someone like Anthony, obviously the dad of my idol,” Hadjar said. “It was quite a special moment and indeed Lewis sent me a message later that day. Really classy guys.”

Despite the focus on his error and the reaction, Hadjar says he was able to move on quickly in the knowledge there was another race in Shanghai to focus on this weekend.

“I would say on Monday already, I felt quite a lot better, especially knowing that it’s a back-to-back weekend. I’ve got to run it back quite early, not having a month to dwell on it.”