Isack Hadjar reveals added football 'frustration' over 'painful' F1 spell

Isack Hadjar's hopes of cheering on his favourite football team this week have been scuppered, adding to his frustration following a "painful" Miami Grand Prix weekend.

Impressive Racing Bulls rookie Hadjar missed out on a place in the top 10 of Saturday's qualifying by just 0.020s to Esteban Ocon in his Haas.

At the chequered flag at the Miami International Autodrome, Hadjar was again disappointed to see '11' against his name, finishing 0.168s adrift of Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda, who had been hit with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

Hadjar was aware of that punishment over the closing laps and did all he could to claim a point, but has conceded to making too many errors during his final stint on the hard tyres, and on the crucial final lap in particular.

"I had the gap difference live, and I just gave it everything, but it was not enough," said Hadjar, speaking to media, including RacingNews365.

"One tenth [of a second] over 25 laps or more on the hard, I don't know how many laps we did, but it was quite a lot. It was definitely a tenth in all of these laps.

"Yuki may have made a few mistakes on his side. More importantly, I feel like I made too many which cost me the top 10.

"Throwing a tenth here and there over 30 laps is easy to do, and that's what I did on that last lap. I knew I was within five seconds. It was a qualifying battle with him. I just wanted it too much and I made a few mistakes."

Hadjar - 'We're going to win'

Those near misses were not the first of the season for Hadjar as he was 11th in qualifying in Australia, and then 11th at the end of the grand prix in China.

"It's good to fail outside the top 10, but showing pace, rather than being nowhere near the top 10," he assessed.

The disappointment on Hadjar's face was evident, however. You could sense he was internally beating himself up, and not for the first time this year such is the way he wears his heart on his sleeve.

As to how he will now reset, with a gap now to Racing Bull's home race in Imola later this month, a rueful Hadjar said: "I wait until I jump back in the car. Before that, it's just painful."

Pressed by RacingNews365 as to his plans to clear his mind over the next few days, referring to the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, Hadjar said: "There's the PSG game against Arsenal in Paris. We're going to win."

Asked whether he had a ticket for the match given his allegiance to PSG, even then, Hadjar expressed further disappointment as it is clear work will get in the way.

"I can't attend, which is really frustrating, so there's that," he added, before stating with a sigh, "Also, some more sim... and catching up with my friends."