Nelson Piquet Jr hasn’t held back in his criticism of Isack Hadjar’s response to his Miami Grand Prix crash, calling it ‘childish’.
Hadjar was visibly frustrated after crashing out at Miami, punching his steering wheel in anger as he tried to process what had happened. It was a tough weekend overall for the Frenchman, who had already been vocal about how far off he felt from Max Verstappen even before qualifying.
The situation worsened when Hadjar found himself in the barriers exiting Turn 15. Replays showed that he’d damaged his suspension hitting the inside wall at Turn 14, and from there, he had no control over what followed.
Although the initial contact seemed minor, the outcome left him with terminal damage and no way to continue. But it was his reaction afterwards that has drawn more attention than the crash itself.
Guenther Steiner criticised Hadjar for letting his emotions get the better of him while James Hinchcliffe wondered if this could be an early sign of a troubling pattern. Now Nelson Piquet Jr has added his voice to those concerns and didn’t hold back in what he had to say:
Nelson Piquet Jr casts doubt on Isack Hadjar’s maturity after Miami GP reaction
Speaking on the Pelas Pistas podcast, Piquet Jr shared his thoughts on how Hadjar handled himself in Miami. The Red Bull driver has faced similar criticism before for his radio outbursts, but the former F1 driver felt this one was particularly telling.
“Hopefully, he won’t let this one get to him too much, but it was entirely his own mistake, wasn’t it?” he said. “There’s no one else to look at, no one else to blame, it’s just him.”
Piquet Jr also pointed out that the next two races could prove even more challenging. Monaco is a narrow street circuit known more for its mental demands than outright speed, and Canada can be equally unforgiving.
“He’s got two tough ones coming up: Canada, which isn’t an easy track, and Monaco, which is tricky too,” he continued. “I just don’t think he’s quite at the level yet. If the same thing happens in Canada and again in Monaco, then maybe he’ll start to realise.”
Piquet believes Hadjar will only truly understand what it takes when these moments stack up. “Then we’ll start to see if he can handle that pressure mentally,” he said. “But right now there is still a long way to go.”
He went on to call out the emotional reaction as a sign of immaturity.
“If you get too emotional about things like this it comes off as a bit childish,” Piquet said. He noted that team bosses tend to trust drivers who keep their cool under pressure rather than those who are easily rattled.
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