Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar has dismissed suggestions that his 0.825-second qualifying deficit to teammate Max Verstappen at the Miami Grand Prix reflects their true performance gap. The French driver, who qualified ninth before being disqualified for a technical infringement, finished well behind the four-time world champion who secured second place, just 0.166s behind Mercedes polesitter Kimi Antonelli.
Hadjar pointed to Miami’s unique characteristics as the primary factor behind the substantial time difference, noting that the gap between the newly paired teammates had never exceeded five tenths across the opening three rounds of the 2026 season. The challenging circuit conditions, featuring low grip levels and high track temperatures, proved particularly troublesome for the Red Bull newcomer, who also struggled in Saturday’s sprint qualifying where he finished 0.961s behind Verstappen.
“Just myself, just driving. I think it’s a very tricky track, very low grip with high track temperature so nothing to do with what we had in the first three rounds,” Hadjar explained when discussing the performance gap. He emphasized that Miami’s characteristics differ significantly from previous venues, describing it as not being “a very fluid racing track with good grip” and praising Verstappen’s ability to adapt quickly to such demanding conditions.
The French driver acknowledged making progress in cornering compared to Friday’s practice sessions but admitted he couldn’t match Verstappen’s overall refinement. Hadjar also highlighted straight-line speed deficits as an additional factor contributing to the gap, suggesting that multiple elements combined to create the substantial qualifying time difference rather than a fundamental pace disadvantage.