FORMULA ONE returned on Sunday in the land down under in what turned out to be a very eventful opener.
This season has become the start of a new era for Formula One as there is a total of six rookies on the grid. Four out of the six ended up retiring during the race, due to the adverse weather conditions, but it was one rookie who tugged at the heart strings more than the others.
Heading into the second to last corner of the formation lap, Racing Bulls newcomer Isack Hadjar, dropped the car and binned it into the wall.
The start was abandoned and the damage that he sustained left him out before it even began.
On his walk back to the pits, he was met by Lewis Hamiltons father Anthony, who consoled him as he broke down in tears.
Helmut Marko, the boss of the Red Bull driver programme wasn’t that impressed with the waterworks.
In an interview to Austrian broadcaster ORF, he said that Hadjar “put on a tearful show” and added “That was a bit embarrassing.”
As the boss of the driver programme, you would expect him to comfort the young driver and build his confidence back up rather than beating him whilst he’s down.
Red Bull team principle Christian Horner was a lot more understanding saying “It was quite heart wrenching to see him so gutted,” “You forget that these guys are just kids really.”
Up until the incident, the 20 year old performed really well in practice and qualifying with Horner saying, “I think when he strips it back, there’s an awful lot of positives he can take out of the weekend. He’s got many bright days ahead of him.”
