Hadjar says Ferrari had Singapore's fastest car, and Leclerc calls it nonsense

A claim about the Singapore race

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull's second driver, was asked at the Circuit of the Americas about Max Verstappen's win at the Singapore Grand Prix and said Ferrari had been the quicker car there. He argued that Verstappen would have won by a bigger margin had he been driving for Ferrari, and he called it his own opinion. Hadjar also said Red Bull dominated in Malaysia but was not the fastest car in Singapore. Verstappen finished more than seven seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc, who took second, while Hadjar finished 10th. Hadjar added that the Red Bull remained very hard to drive, even though Verstappen had won the last two races before Austin.

Leclerc's reply

Leclerc dismissed the remarks on Thursday at the circuit, calling them nonsense. He said neither driver knew what kind of car the other one drove, which set the tone for the exchange.

“Isack has no idea what kind of car we drive, and I have no idea what kind of car he drives”

Leclerc added that the competition was so close that predictions were very hard to make. He said small margins depended largely on how each team optimised its overall package, which he considered more important than the raw car. Leclerc also said Mercedes had not made the step he expected from them, and that a close fight would follow if they unlocked their pace.

Paddock views on the pecking order

Oscar Piastri said Ferrari had been the quickest, or joint quickest, in almost every corner on the data this year, but lost out on the straights, whether from drag or power. The McLaren driver said both Ferrari and Red Bull were stronger than his own team. He added that the challenges rotated from one weekend to the next, so no single car had settled as the benchmark.

“I think over the last few weeks Red Bull has definitely become the most consistently quick car.”

Piastri's comments came as Red Bull and Ferrari traded blows in the pre-weekend exchanges. Hadjar's remarks and Leclerc's reply therefore sat against a field that the drivers themselves described as tightly matched.

First practice in Austin

Leclerc set the fastest time in the first free practice session on Friday, 23 October, with a lap of 1:36.052. Verstappen was 0.084 behind, Lando Norris 0.245 back and George Russell 0.326 back. Kimi Antonelli, who leads the championship, was fifth at 0.481 behind, while Lewis Hamilton was sixth for Ferrari at 0.503 back and Oscar Piastri was 0.734 back. Austin represents Antonelli's first matchpoint, with the title within reach, and Mercedes lead the constructors' standings by a wide margin.

Max Verstappen0.084

Lando Norris0.245

George Russell0.326

Kimi Antonelli0.481

Lewis Hamilton0.503

Oscar Piastri0.734

Max Verstappen

0.084 seconds

Lando Norris

0.245 seconds

George Russell

0.326 seconds

Kimi Antonelli

0.481 seconds

Lewis Hamilton

0.503 seconds

Oscar Piastri

0.734 seconds

Data from the article text