Hadjar says Verstappen would have won by more in a Ferrari — Leclerc and Verstappen call it nonsense

A teammate sets the paddock talking

Red Bull's Isack Hadjar has started the most talked-about argument of the United States Grand Prix media day, and it has nothing to do with Austin. Asked on Thursday whether Red Bull has the fastest car, the Frenchman said no, and went further: in his view Max Verstappen would have won the Singapore Grand Prix by a bigger margin had he been driving a Ferrari.

According to Crash.net and RacingNews365, Hadjar argued that Verstappen took pole by only half a tenth and that Ferrari, who finished second, did not have new soft tyres for the race. "I think in Singapore it was the fastest car," he said of the Ferrari. He added that the Red Bull is still "very hard to drive" and described Malaysia, not Singapore, as the weekend where it was dominant.

The reaction

Verstappen was dismissive. Quoted by RacingNews365, he said he is not able to judge how good a Ferrari is because he has never driven one, and that such debates are "just nonsense". He also suggested that drivers should not keep pushing a point to agitate others and should let it go.

Charles Leclerc, whose team is the subject of the claim, was blunter, according to PlanetF1. He called it "nonsense" to say such things, noting that Hadjar has no idea what kind of car Ferrari drive, and said the field is so tight that it is very difficult to predict.

Lewis Hamilton was more measured. He called Hadjar an amazing driver but said they would have different opinions, and described Red Bull as having the best engine this year. In Singapore, he said, Red Bull were as quick through the corners as Ferrari but three to four tenths quicker down the straights. He also played down Ferrari's upgrade for Austin, which he put at about half a tenth.

What the numbers say

Singapore ended with Verstappen winning by 7.335 seconds from Leclerc, with Kimi Antonelli third. It was Verstappen's second win of the season in 17 races, in a year that has brought him 12 podiums. Hadjar's own Singapore weekend went badly: Crash.net and RacingNews365 report a power unit failure in the sprint, a gearbox failure in qualifying, a 22nd place on the grid and a tenth-place finish.

In the championship, Verstappen has 188 points and sits sixth, level with Lando Norris. Hadjar is eighth with 96. Hamilton (214) and Leclerc (191) are third and fourth for Ferrari, with one win each this year and seven podiums apiece. Mercedes' Antonelli leads on 320 points.

What comes next

The argument cannot be settled on the data alone, because nobody has swapped cars. The next test is the United States Grand Prix, where the race starts on Sunday 25 October at 20:00 UTC and where Ferrari's small upgrade and Red Bull's straight-line advantage will be tested on a very different circuit.