Isack Hadjar demands Red Bull clutch redesign after COTA race

Hadjar demands clutch redesign

Isack Hadjar qualified in third place at the Circuit of the Americas on October 25, 2026, sitting just 0.036 seconds behind Max Verstappen. This marked the highest grid position of his Formula 1 career. He had considered having two Red Bulls near the front "a bit of an advantage" on Saturday, but the race proved difficult. After the lights went out, he dropped to fifth place on the opening lap when Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both moved past him in their Ferraris. He eventually crossed the chequered flag in sixth place, falling behind Lando Norris in the process. Hadjar blames the poor start on a mechanical failure that he claims stays out of his control. He insists he does "everything perfectly in terms of procedure" but then suffers "clutch over delivery." The driver demands that Red Bull perform a complete redesign of the component. He told Sky Sports that "it needs a redesign because at the moment it’s too fragile, it’s not coping well with temperatures." He says these issues are starting to "piss me off."

Technical errors and qualifying struggles

Technical failures and strategic errors hampered his race performance. Hadjar reports poor radio coverage that prevented him from hearing communication from the pits. He left the pit lane with the wrong settings map, an error that cost him approximately one second per lap while he drove on the hard tyre compound. Track limits also put him on the back foot throughout the weekend. During the third free practice session, he could not complete a single lap on the soft tyres. He had to work on the setup to recover from a weekend he described as a "disaster" where he had "all [his] lap times deleted all the time." He felt he lost time in qualifying due to a massive tailwind on his final Q3 attempt, despite thinking he had a shot at the front row. He also noted that he could only complete half a lap at times in practice before losing balance. He finished outside the top five in his last two Grands Prix, placing tenth in Singapore and sixth here in Austin.

Verstappen and the 2026 season

Max Verstappen also faced issues at the start but finished the race in third. He noted that the power unit lacked consistency, causing problems with engine braking and shifts "lap after lap, corner after corner." Verstappen, who won the two races prior to this weekend, suggested the team used the wrong tyre compounds or used them in the wrong order, which forced a two-stop strategy. He also admitted that even with better tyre management, he might not have had the pace of Kimi Antonelli. He also noted that the softer compounds this weekend did not seem to work as well as they had in the past. He credited his third-place finish to a well-timed VSC. Hadjar has struggled recently, finishing tenth in Singapore and sixth at COTA. He missed the races at Zandvoort, Monza, and Madrid following a wrist injury sustained during the summer break. Red Bull extended his contract to the end of 2027 before his return in Azerbaijan.