Isack Hadjar's Qualifying Gift Gives Max Verstappen a Massive Boost

Isack Hadjar's qualifying gift to Max Verstappen at the Belgian Grand Prix has been revealed to have a huge impact on the Dutchman's chances of winning the race. On 22 July, Hadjar sacrificed his own Q3 session to help Verstappen secure a front-row start, giving him a crucial slipstream that allowed him to gain a significant 0.4 seconds in the final sector.

What happened?

In a perfectly executed team effort, Hadjar slowed down significantly just before T14 and timed his exit from T15 onto the straight so that Verstappen could follow closely behind. This allowed the Dutchman to gain a boost of around 10 km/h on average in the section between T15 and T17, with his maximum lap speed jumping from 328 km/h to 335 km/h.

Why it matters for Isack Hadjar

Hadjar's sacrifice was made possible by his 30-grid-place penalty due to changing the ICE, turbocharger, and exhaust on his car, with each of the mentioned components carrying a 10-place penalty. Despite this, the Frenchman dedicated his entire Q3 appearance to helping his team-mate, not recording a single representative lap in Q3.

What comes next?

The telemetry data shows that Verstappen gained almost a full 0.4 seconds, which is truly a massive "gift". In the entire final sector, he improved his time by 0.462 seconds compared to his Q2 lap. If we translate this difference to the timing tower, Max drops to P7 or even P8 in a tight battle with Oscar Piastri. In other words, his race in Belgium without his teammate's help would have definitely looked completely different.

The data also suggests that Verstappen lacks about 3 tenths of race pace on the medium tyres compared to Antonelli. Although we shouldn't take this number for granted, it is obvious that the Dutchman won't be able to match Antonelli's pace, while things could be different with Russell. Russell was indeed slower than Max in FP2, but again, we cannot rely too much on these numbers. However, what we all know is that battles between Verstappen and Russell are always exciting, and it seems likely that we will see another thrilling encounter on Sunday.

What can Max Verstappen achieve in the Grand Prix?

The red flag in FP2 meant that many drivers didn't have the opportunity to simulate race pace and tyre degradation. However, the driver who collected the most data was Max, along with Hadjar. According to the data available to us, Verstappen lacks about 3 tenths of race pace on the medium tyres compared to Antonelli. Although we shouldn't take this number for granted, it is obvious that the Dutchman won't be able to match Antonelli's pace, while things could be different with Russell.

In conclusion, Isack Hadjar's qualifying gift to Max Verstappen has given the Dutchman a significant boost in the Belgian Grand Prix. With Verstappen's improved pace and the potential for a thrilling battle with Russell, it seems likely that we will see an exciting race on Sunday.

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