Isack Hadjar had a rollercoaster Qualifying hour in Suzuka as a saga of issues within the cockpit noticed him scrape into Q2 earlier than he delivered a flying lap to safe a formidable P7 forward of the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Racing Bulls rookie proved his one-lap potential final day out in China when he certified in seventh place, however it appeared unlikely that he would replicate that efficiency this weekend for almost all of Qualifying.
The session started with Hadjar reporting an unidentified challenge within the cockpit over the radio earlier than he was proven wanting more and more perturbed within the storage forward of Q2. It emerged that his seatbelts had been mounted in an uncomfortably tight method, impacting his focus and talent to place a robust lap collectively.
This was rapidly amended within the interim and the Frenchman surprised as soon as once more to qualify within the high 10 because the lead Racing Bull automobile, beating the likes of his racing hero Lewis Hamilton within the last a part of the hour.