Isack Hadjar overcame painful seat belt issue to qualify seventh for Japanese Grand Prix

Driving a Formula 1 car around one of the world’s toughest circuits is hard enough.

Doing that while dealing with a seat belt issue that is causing you pain? That sounds even tougher.

Add in the fact the pain is in an area where you would absolutely not want to feel pain when driving at speeds exceeding 200 miles per hour? That sounds downright impossible.

But that is the task Visa Cash App Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar was given on Saturday at the Japanese Grand Prix as he dealt with a seat belt issue that was causing him pain in a rather, well, sensitive area.

Despite that problem, Hadjar advanced into Q3 and will start the Japanese Grand Prix from P7.

“Yeah had an issue with my seat belt. Had to jump out, jump back in, and it was fine,” described Hadjar to the official F1 channel following qualifying. “Compromised my first run in Q1. Then it was driveable, thankfully, on that final lap in Q1 to get through to Q2. But yeah, I was in pain a bit, then for the rest I could just focus on driving fast and it worked.”

Hadjar’s radio messages to race engineer Pierre Hamelin highlight just what the driver was dealing with during the early part of qualifying. After his first push lap in Q1 Hadjar declared “I mean I just can’t focus, I have so much lap time. It’s just not driveable.”

Hadjar followed that with a report that “The belts are twisted, you know?”

Ahead of his final push lap in Q1, Hadjar was surprised that the issue persisted, and apologized to his team in advance if it prevented him from advancing to Q2. “If this is what ruins our qualifying, just so you know, I’m very sorry,” said Hadjar over the radio. “Mate the issue is still here. I can’t believe it. Can’t believe it.”

Ultimately, Hadjar did advance and will start the Japanese Grand Prix in P7.

Speaking with Sky Sports F1 following qualifying, Hadjar described the situation as a “nightmare.”

“In the afternoon during Q1, unfortunately, I felt some discomfort in the cockpit due to an issue with the seat belt, but at the end of that session, I jumped out of the car and the team were able to fix it, allowing me to have a smooth Q2 and Q3,” said Hadjar in the team’s post-qualifying report.

“This definitely helped me a lot as I was able to be fully focused on my driving.”

Thanks to that focus, Hadjar starts seventh on Sunday, in position for his first F1 points.