What led Isack Hadjar to lose his enthusiasm for F1 sprints?

However, the French driver found himself with limited opportunities to enhance his car’s setup. He reported engine troubles during his SQ3 attempt, experienced a power unit failure in the sprint race, dealt with a ‘broken fourth gear’ in the main qualifying session, and faced additional powertrain issues after finishing 10th in the full-distance race.

While Hadjar's difficulties were primarily due to reliability issues rather than the sprint format itself, he still believed the single practice session – compared to the usual three on a standard weekend – hindered his ability to address his RB22’s setup challenges. 

“That's the issue with these weekends where you can't work on the car,” the 22-year-old expressed after qualifying in Singapore. “It's just impossible. You need to rely on luck. There’s no opportunity for adjustments.

“I suppose it might not be thrilling for spectators to watch us conduct numerous tests, but it’s crucial for us, and now... The car was behaving poorly. I was looking forward to today to see the impact of the changes and to explore what I could achieve with a functioning engine, but I didn’t get to do it. It’s tough to learn anything during weekends like this.”

Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing Team Principal, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

When asked if the format added excitement to the weekend due to its rapid preparation and risk, Hadjar responded: “Perhaps it benefits those who don’t put in the hard work. Maybe.

“I simply don’t enjoy it. I used to, last year. But as you mature and face a tough teammate, you realize the importance of putting in the effort, and… I don’t appreciate the sprint anymore.”

Unfortunately for Hadjar, the number of sprint weekends is set to rise from six this season to 10 by 2027.

“I have no idea who makes these choices,” he lamented. “Next year, there’s a sprint race in Monaco. How on earth do you think that will play out? What do you expect to happen? Do you think there will be overtakes?”

“No,” a journalist responded. “So why are we doing it?” Hadjar continued. “It’s just very disheartening, and the number of these events keeps increasing.”