Formula 1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP
"I'm not a machine": Isack Hadjar blasts Red Bull start procedure
Hadjar says Red Bull needs to urgently address its start issues, arguing the current procedure is too difficult for drivers to execute consistently
Oleg Karpov
Edited: Jun 16, 2026, 9:47 AM
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Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Red Bull's drivers have been struggling with their starts since the beginning of the Formula 1 season. While there have been occasional strong getaways, Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar have continued to suffer from inconsistent launches, often losing multiple positions off the line.
Other teams that experienced similar problems earlier in the year appear to have found solutions. Mercedes, in particular, has made significant progress, as Kimi Antonelli was among the weakest starters during the opening rounds of the championship, regularly losing positions off the line. The team appears to have found a fix, with the Italian delivering consistently clean starts over the past three race weekends.
At Red Bull, however, the issue remains a major concern, with the start procedure appearing too complicated for drivers to execute reliably.
The problem was highlighted again in Barcelona, where Hadjar suffered a disastrous getaway. Having qualified sixth and lined up directly behind team-mate on the grid, the Frenchman dropped to 14th after a poor launch, losing eight places on the run to Turn 1 alone.
Although he recovered to finish sixth, Hadjar described his Barcelona start as a "nightmare" and urged Red Bull to address the issue as soon as possible, arguing that rival teams have given their drivers a much more manageable system to work with.
"We just need to work on our starts, because it's just yeah it's not possible to keep going like that," he told F1 TV. "Every race weekend it's the same story. Today was a nightmare, but the whole weekend I was struggling. It's really the point we need to work on because everyone's made progress, but I went backwards [again]. So, yeah, procedure is too difficult. Window is too small."
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
He expanded on the issue in the media pen afterwards, suggesting the precision required by Red Bull's current system is unrealistic.
"I don't know man," he said when asked what caused the poor getaway. "It's just the whole weekend has been like this for me.
"I think out of the six practise starts we had the whole weekend that one was the worst. And it had to happen on the grid. I stalled twice, which I never did the whole season. So yeah, we need to fix these issues because the procedure is way too complicated.
"I'm not a computer, I'm not a machine, I can't be 0.0001% precise. It's not working."
Laurent Mekies: It's part of the learning process
Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies says the team's start struggles are linked to the challenge of finding the optimum operating window for its new power unit, effectively confirming Hadjar's assessment that the current window is too narrow for drivers to execute the procedure consistently.
However, he stopped short of indicating whether a solution is imminent.
"You know, we didn't get a good start," Mekies said when discussing Hadjar's race. "We have had weak starts so far this season. You know, it's part of year one as power unit manufacturers. We learned there is a lot of things we need to improve and to work out between chassis side and PU side.
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"It's certainly, we have been saying, we have a very good power unit. But it's a power unit that also has a very narrow window. And there is many areas where you also make your life a little bit more difficult.
"So it's part of the learning process as a year one."
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