LONDON :Formula One rookie Isack Hadjar has two flags in his room, the French tricolore and Algeria’s red star and crescent on green and white.
Born in Paris to Algerian scientist parents and competing with a French licence, the Racing Bulls driver stands out at the top level of the sport for his North African heritage as well as results.
“I feel I am representing two countries,” the dual-national told Reuters in Saudi Arabia last weekend.
“I am the first Arab driver on the planet to make it to Formula One. It’s huge but it went under the radar, no-one cares, but it’s huge.”
The record books show one other North African driver since the world championship started in 1950, French-born Robert La Caze who competed as a Moroccan in 1958 when that country hosted a race.
Since then, Brazilian Felipe Nasr – who raced in F1 in 2015-16 and whose grandfather emigrated from Lebanon to South America in the 1960s – was the closest Formula One had to a driver from the Arab world.
There are now four races in the Middle East, and none with a home driver. Africa is not even on the calendar.
Hadjar’s debut in Melbourne left him crying in frustration after crashing out on the formation lap but the 20-year-old redeemed himself with five points from two races.
“Hadjar is the surprise of the season,” proclaimed Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko after Japan. “He’s calm and always there… he’s a really big guy coming up for the future.”
‘PETIT PROST’
Marko referred to Hadjar long ago as ‘Petit Prost’ – a seemingly impressive nod to France’s four times world champion Alain.
Hadjar, who was at the time a bigger fan of Prost’s late teammate and rival Ayrton Senna, grimaced and said the reason was more mundane.
“I was just chewing my fingernails and he said ‘Yeah, like Prost’,” he recalled. “He told me this. Like Prost. That’s all. It’s that simple.”
“I don’t mind. Prost is a legend. It was Ayrton as a kid but the more I’m growing up, the more I appreciate Alain actually. When you are a kid you just think about speed and bright colours. You see Ayrton Senna and it’s like ‘Oh, amazing’. And then later on Lewis (Hamilton).”
Hadjar felt Prost, the tactically astute ‘Professor’ who retired in 1993 after winning titles with McLaren and Williams, deserved more recognition.
“I just think that his career is really under-rated,” he said.
“I’m not going to self-proclaim myself as a smart guy but definitely I have the approach that my dad always wanted me to use my head first… just thinking when you drive and making the difference outside the car.”
Growing up, Hadjar’s interest was pricked by the movie ‘Cars’ and watching F1 with father Yassine, a senior researcher in quantum mechanics.
He started karting at seven and was runner-up in Formula Two last season, a frustrating campaign in which he sounded like an angry young man venting over the radio.
Hadjar said that was then.
“You play with the limits of what’s allowed,” he said.
“In Formula Two you are a client to the team and you’re playing your life here. You want to go to Formula One, the team messes up, you’re mad at them on the radio and you say what you think.
“Here, it’s completely different. You get paid to drive. It’s the coolest job on earth, you don’t shout at people. It’s not possible.
“If I want to shout, I shout in my helmet. That’s what I do. I don’t press the radio button to say nonsense.”
