Isack Hadjar says Miami Grand Prix the first time he struggled with overall pace

Red Bull Racing brought a major upgrade package to their RB22 in Miami, which Verstappen immediately put to good use, flirting with the front runners and even qualifying second for last Sunday's Grand Prix.

While he spun at the start and recovered to an eventual fifth, the Dutchman was in the range of one second ahead of Hadjar in terms of pure pace, an ominous sign for the Frenchman who knows really well the battering his predecessors at the team received at the hands of Verstappen.

To make his life worse, Hadjar was disqualified from qualifying for a technical infringement on his RB22 and started the race from the pitlane after Red Bull opted to strategically give him extra power unit elements.

And while he was having a decent drive up the order, Hadjar binned his Formula 1 car on Lap 6/7 after tackling the Turn 14/15 chicane aggressively.

He later admitted: "I was too eager and too excited about making those moves and just ruined myself. It was easy to overtake. I should have been more cautious.

"There was no point trying to flirt with the limit in this corner, so I'm really pissed off," the driver, who was seen beating his steering after crashing, added.

However, what was worse for Hadjar was the reality check he got in Miami; he said: "It's the first time I've really struggled with my overall pace.

"This is new. And I really need to dig deep because I don't want another weekend like this," he concluded.

Red Bull Racing boss Laurent Mekies tried to take a bit of pressure off Hadjar and said: "We had a tough weekend. To be honest, we know we haven't done everything perfectly on our side.

"I think in terms of driving and rhythms, he [Hadjar] slowly got into the right rhythm; I think he would have been strong in the race, and he was strong for the little bit he could have shown.

"Hence, I don't think we are worried. We certainly didn't have a clean weekend. We didn't help him either by sending him from the back of the grid after our mistake with the legality of the car.

"So, no, not worried. Not a clean weekend, but there is every indication that he will be at the right speed again in Montreal," Mekies concluded. (Source: Sky Sports F1)