After an excellent first stint, in which he had toyed with the idea of trying to get into the top 5 and maybe even something more with the one-stopper strategy, Hadjar remained in the wrong pit stop mapping after the tyre change, which limited the throttle response, which did not provide power until the pedal went above 40%
Max Verstappen's podium finish in Austin, combined with Isaac Hadjar's sixth-place finish, allowed Red Bull to catch up with and overtake McLaren in the Constructors' Championship, a goal that seemed almost unattainable heading into the summer break. However, the RB22's growth in recent months, combined with the difficulties encountered by the Woking team, quickly shifted the balance of power on the track.
Yet, Red Bull leaves Austin with some regrets, not only because the podium is starting to feel tight, but also because there might have been a chance to score a few more points with Hadjar. Despite a poor start due to the RB22's chronic problems, the Frenchman had an excellent first half of the race, but a mapping issue at the pit stop compromised his throttle management in the second half.
A real shame, because observing Hadjar's performance in the early stages, it's clear that, once he found some space in the clear air on the soft tyres, his pace wasn't that far from that of Andrea Kimi Antonelli. In fact, for a few laps, the two were essentially on par.
Both opted for a one-stop strategy, and considering that Mercedes' simulations proved to be about eight seconds faster than a two-stopper, the Frenchman didn't seem too far off from fighting for a fourth- to fifth-place finish. "In clean air, during the first stint, I was on Kimi's time and I thought it was a one-stop race," Hadjar said.
However, everything he had built in the first part of the race, effectively managing the soft tyre against the mediums used by his rivals, went up in smoke when he switched to the hard tyre, the compound that proved to be the most competitive over the distance. After the pit stop, Hadjar remained on the wrong mapping, a mistake that he claims cost him up to a second per lap for the entire second stint.
When entering the pit lane, drivers select a specific map for the pit stop, which is necessary to keep the engine revving and the clutch pressed during the tire change. In the case of Red Bull, this is "Strat 12." Once the pit stop is complete, the driver must return to the normal race map before leaving the pit lane and rejoining the track.
The problem is that, in those moments, Hadjar didn't select the correct race mapping after the pit stop. While he was driving down the pit lane, he was busy discussing the hard tire choice with the team on the radio and found himself on track with the wrong mode still selected. Once you exit the pit lane, you can no longer change that mapping, with the risk of having to complete the stint in the wrong conditions, exactly what happened to the Frenchman.
This mode limits the engine's response to low throttle inputs. In practice, every time Hadjar returned to the accelerator, it was as if he were dealing with significant turbo lag: the car wouldn't react properly until the pedal was about 40% open, with no power restored. This condition forced him to be much more aggressive in his throttle application throughout the second half of the race.
The consequences were multiple. First, the car became more difficult to drive when exiting corners, because the ability to modulate power during traction was lost, increasing the risk of tire spin and thus degradation. Furthermore, in some circumstances, if the tires spin on exit, they use more energy than necessary and can lead to battery failure sooner, so careful throttle management is essential.
“I stuck with the pit stop mapping, which cost us a second per lap. That was the problem. No matter what tire I had, it wouldn't have made any difference. I had driveability issues. I could have even put on rain tires and it wouldn't have made any difference,” said Hadjar. A real shame, because a small mistake had far more serious consequences than anyone could have imagined.
