Hadjar Riles Leclerc With Verstappen-Ferrari Jibe at US Grand Prix Media Day

Thursday's media day at the Circuit of the Americas took an unexpectedly spicy turn as Isack Hadjar riled Charles Leclerc by insisting Ferrari had the fastest car at the recent Singapore Grand Prix and that Max Verstappen would have won by a bigger margin driving for the Italian team. Verstappen took the chequered flag in Singapore, with Leclerc second, 7.3 seconds back, while Hadjar finished tenth. "In Malaysia, it [the Red Bull] was dominant, but I don't think in Singapore it was the fastest car. That's what I believe," Hadjar said. "If you put Max in the Ferrari, he would have won the race with more margin." Leclerc refused to take the bait. "I think it's nonsense to start saying these kinds of things. Isack has no idea what kind of car we drive, and I have no idea what kind of car he drives," he told reporters in Austin. McLaren's Oscar Piastri offered a measured take, saying data shows Ferrari are "the quickest or joint-quickest or outright quickest in basically every corner this year" but lose out on the straights, while Red Bull have become "the most consistently quick car" in recent weeks. The exchange sets up a tense weekend at COTA, where Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli arrives as championship leader with a 102-point cushion and a chance to seal his first drivers' title before the paddock leaves Texas.