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A theory has arisen for why Isack Hadjar was over half a second behind Max Verstappen during Friday practice.
During the opening day of the Australian Grand Prix, Isack Hadjar found his way inside the top ten on the timesheets in his debut with Red Bull.
The French driver ended the day in ninth place, but was behind his teammate Max Verstappen, and Racing Bulls driver, Arvid Lindblad.
Despite Hadjar ending the opening day of the season in ninth place, 0.6 seconds behind Verstappen, a theory has emerged for why he was far off his teammate.
What do you expect from Isack Hadjar in the 2026 F1 season?
Isack Hadjar was not going to risk a crash during practice
Ralf Bach discussed Isack Hadjar being nearly six-tenths behind his teammate at the end of the second practice session, and has his own theory for the reason.
After Hadjar crashed during testing, people at Red Bull were upset with him, which he will now be aware of. It has now been speculated that the French driver was not risking everything during practice.
Instead, Hadjar was out on track completing his practice programme, and was not going to risk a crash at all during Friday’s track time.
Bach said, “Perhaps he did not risk everything. He does not want to damage any cars. People were a bit upset with him for crashing the Red Bull during testing, which was unnecessary. He is aware of that.
“So, saying that he was holding back in Formula 1 is a bit of an exaggeration, but it may be that he was mainly focused on completing his programme and not crashing out under any circumstances.
“And of course, that doesn’t help if you have that in the back of your mind when you want to go all out, but if that was the case, then he did his job sensibly.”
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Can Isack Hadjar end the Red Bull second driver curse?
Since Max Verstappen became the number one driver at Red Bull Racing, there has not been a second driver who could compete with the Dutchman.
However, there have been suggestions that Hadjar will be able to do what many could not and end the second seat curse at Red Bull.
Former Haas team principal, Guenther Steiner, has backed Hadjar to end the second driver curse, as he said ‘I think Isack is good, very young, and he can take his time and wait a few years.’
Steiner stated that the change in management at Red Bull will help Hadjar bring an end to the second seat curse.
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