Isack Hadjar lands ‘Deliveroo’ joke after Max Verstappen support role

Isack Hadjar has explained the "very difficult" process of giving Max Verstappen a tow during Belgian Grand Prix qualifying, joking that he was running a "Deliveroo" service.

Knowing he had a 30-place grid penalty for several power unit component changes, Red Bull used Hadjar in qualifying to give Verstappen a tow in the final sector at Spa-Francorchamps.

It made a significant difference, with the four-time world champion securing second on the grid. Without the tow, Verstappen believes he would have qualified sixth or seventh.

Hadjar played the team role perfectly, although he feared the Dutchman got too close during his final lap in Q3.

The way the power units operate this season made giving Verstappen a tow particularly challenging, as the Frenchman explained after qualifying.

Asked if it was difficult to get the tow right, Hadjar told select media, including RacingNews365: "Very difficult. 

"What's difficult is trying to understand, to guess, what the engine is going to give you because, once you stop out of Turn 14 and deliver the power, the engine is a bit confused because you've stopped for no reason, and the software is confused. 

"So, on that first attempt in Q3, I had way too much power, so I pulled away from him. On the second attempt, I didn't have enough, so if anything, he was catching me, and I couldn't tow him the whole way. 

"So that was very difficult to judge."

Hadjar will start from 21st as a result of his grid penalty, but he has shown promising pace all weekend, with a strong starting position having been possible had he pushed in Q3. Instead, Hadjar likened himself to a delivery service.

Discussing how the tow decision was reached, Hadjar joked to Viaplay: "I mean, he [Verstappen] decides where he wants it delivered, and I deliver it. It's like Deliveroo, you know? that was the same."