Isack Hadjar has insisted it is not his place to "invent strategy" after a botched Racing Bulls call cost him a points finish in China. Finally making his first grand prix start from seventh on the grid, Hadjar and team-mate Yuki Tsunoda were placed on two-stop strategies after fears the Pirelli tyres would degrade to such an extent multiple stops would be required. However, the tyres held on longer than expected, with the majority of the field switching to a one-stopper, although Hadjar and Tsunoda continued with their pre-race plan. Hadjar was eventually classified 11th once the disqualifications of Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, and Pierre Gasly were taken into account, missing out on a points finish by 2.5s behind Williams' Carlos Sainz after being held up by Alpine's Jack Doohan in the closing stages. Reflecting on his race, the Frenchman explained how it was not his place to call strategy shots, despite a second blunder from the team after a late decision to swap Tsunoda to wet tyres during the sudden shower in the Australian GP that also cost a points finish. "It was nothing I could control, I just did my race, drove as fast as possible, the pace was really strong and I was able to stay behind cars and close on equal tyres," Hadjar told media, including RacingNews365. "But it is my second race, and my first full race in Formula 1, so I am not going to invent strategy. "If we say the plan is this, then we stick to the plan, it is as simple as that. I am not going to fight from race one. "The others stayed out, and it worked, so I guess we'll never know, but it is not really complicated. If we had pitted only once, we would have finished in the points. I think it was P7, that's it." Hadjar was also pressed on the late-race battle with Doohan, labelling racing against the Alpine a futile exercise. "When you have a driver that just out-brakes himself, doesn't make the corner just to stay in front, then it is pointless to fight against him," he added. "He got a penalty, so I won the fight."
Most read
