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Hadjar thanks 'classy guys' Anthony and Lewis Hamilton after debut disaster / Photo: © AFP
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Hadjar thanks 'classy guys' Anthony and Lewis Hamilton after debut disaster
Rookie Isack Hadjar on Thursday thanked "classy guys" Anthony and Lewis Hamilton for reaching out to him after the young Frenchman's horror start to his Formula One career.
After qualifying a solid 11th, the 20-year-old crashed in the wet on the formation lap on debut in Melbourne last Sunday and was in tears as he returned to the RB garage without making it to the starting grid.
An emotional Hadjar received a hug in the paddock from Lewis Hamilton's father Anthony, who told him it was like an incident during the seven-time world champion's rookie season in 2007.
"He said it reminded him of Lewis parking the car in the pit entry in Shanghai," Hadjar told reporters at this week's Chinese Grand Prix.
"It was a nice moment, sharing time with someone like Anthony, the dad of my idol.
"It was quite a special moment. Lewis sent me a message later that day, so they're really classy guys."
Lewis Hamilton said he felt it was important to reach out to someone just starting out in their Formula One career.
"I spoke to him just before on the drivers' parade. He was such a nice lad and I just said enjoy the race and not to put too much pressure on himself," Hamilton told reporters.
"Then he had the off on the formation lap, which I knew would be tough. In those moments you feel all eyes are on you, judging you.
"So I just wanted to make sure that he knew that in those moments you have people you can lean on and can talk to."
Hadjar is grateful for an immediate chance to get back in the cockpit.
"I would say on Monday already felt quite a lot better, especially knowing that it's a back-to-back weekend," he said.
"So good to be back quite early rather than having a month to dwell on it."
Hadjar wasn't the only young driver to have a torrid Formula One baptism at Melbourne's Albert Park.
Three of the other five full-season rookies also failed to finish, with Jack Doohan hitting the wall on the opening lap in the Alpine, while Liam Lawson's Red Bull and Gabriel Bortoleto's Sauber did not go the distance.
Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes was the outstanding new kid on the grid, the Italian 18-year-old powering through from 16th at the start to fourth on his F1 debut.
Fellow teenager Oliver Bearman, 19, had hardly any running before the race after crashing his Haas heavily in first practice at Albert Park, but he at least managed to cross the line 14th and last.
A. Walsh--BTZ
