Isack Hadjar has said he would be asking himself questions if his and Max Verstappen's feedback at Red Bull differed.
The 21-year-old pointed out that the "good news" for him is that the four-time F1 drivers' champion is experiencing the same difficulties in the RB22, meaning he is not alone in his feelings behind the wheel.
Over the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, Verstappen was particularly outspoken about the issues he endured in the cockpit, claiming the car had severe oversteer and an overall lack of mechanical grip.
Unusually, the Dutchman suggested the package was "degrading" like a tyre, whilst complaining that the car got "worse and worse, lap after lap" in qualifying.
Hadjar, for his part, stated it was not possible to find the sweet spot of the Red Bull at the Hungaroring and that he was also suffering with the ride.
After the Frenchman finished sixth in Budapest, he was asked whether his feedback to the team was aligned to that of Verstappen, who crossed the line second.
"Yeah, which is reassuring, let's say," the one-time podium finisher told media, including RacingNews365. "Otherwise, I would be asking myself questions. So that's the good news.
Having shown to be a closer match for Verstappen on one-lap performance over the opening 11 rounds of the campaign than others who have run the gauntlet of the second Red Bull seat in recent years, Hadjar wants to improve his race pace, which saw him unable to make progress during the Hungarian Grand Prix.
"I think it also shows why the gap in qualifying is always that close," he added. "I just need an answer on that first stint because, for me, that's what was really frustrating me.
"The rest, everything else this weekend, has been going well."
When it was put to him that Pierre Waché, the Milton Keynes-based team's technical director, had said that mid-corner understeer needed to be dialled out of the car, he added: "Entry stability needs to be solved, then we can improve the rest."
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