Red Bull give Isack Hadjar injury update after third race out
Isack Hadjar is sitting out a third race in succession after suffering a wrist injury.
Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies has provided an update on Isack Hadjar's recovery after he was forced to sit out a third Formula 1 weekend in succession.
Hadjar suffered a wrist injury when boxing in training as the summer shutdown neared an end. In the days before the Dutch Grand Prix, Red Bull revealed that the Frenchman would miss the Zandvoort round, but he has since been absent from the track in Monza, and will be once more in Madrid.
During this time, Liam Lawson has stepped up from Racing Bulls, with Yuki Tsunoda returning to the championship to fill the resulting vacancy at Racing Bulls.
"It was an easy one," Mekies told Sky Sports. "He didn't feel that he was 100%, and that's the only criteria we use: Are you 100%?
"So it wasn't an easy one for here. We always said we will prioritise him coming back at 100%. There is no point in throwing him into a track like this, not feeling good and potentially delaying his full recovery.
"So that's the assessment that we have done. We have a bit more time before Baku, and honestly, there is nothing wrong with his recovery. His recovery is going as planned. Some of these things take time, and we will take the time to evaluate him before Baku and to put him on the sim."
Lawson's previous stint with Red Bull was a short-lived one as he was demoted to Racing Bulls after just two races in 2025 and was replaced by Tsunoda.
This stint, which has bizarrely lasted longer, has seen far stronger results, with his pace being not dissimilar to that shown by Hadjar in the first half of the campaign.
"Liam has been doing a good job," Mekies added. "In Zandvoort, he got all the points he could with a P7 finish.
"In Monza, the race pace we evaluated as being actually quite good. He had a P6, P7, certainly P7 race pace, but he had a front-wing contact, which meant an additional pit stop. So, that's what it is.
"So far, I think he's doing a good job. It's never easy to change cars, and let's see this weekend."
Sam joined Crash.net in February 2026 with extensive experience in motorsport media, having covered numerous championships around the world.
