Isack Hadjar sheds light on his wrist injury recovery ahead of F1 return

Isack Hadjar has detailed his recovery from a wrist injury ahead of his return to Formula 1 action at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

The 21-year-old Frenchman was forced to miss the past three races in the Netherlands, Monza and Madrid after injuring his wrist while training during the F1 summer break. 

Hadjar was replaced by Liam Lawson for the three rounds but will finally get back behind the wheel of his F1 car in Baku this weekend after making what Red Bull described as being a “full recovery”. 

“It's good to come back in these conditions, for sure. I'm really looking forward to drive again,” Hadjar said of his F1 comeback and the news he will be staying at Red Bull for 2027, which was confirmed on Wednesday morning. 

“The last time I touched the steering wheel was in Budapest, so it's been a very, very long time, it feels. So it's good to be back. It's definitely a challenging track to come back to, but yeah, I'm excited, and it's also good to have it announced now, so everything is great.”

Asked if his wrist is 100% healed, Hadjar replied: “Yeah, it's good enough to drive, so that's all I need.” 

Shedding more light on the injury he suffered, and the rehabilitation process, Hadjar continued: “I have a small fracture on the outside of the wrist and it's just quite a long process. I didn't need any surgery, so it's all natural, and it takes some time. 

“It's still going to be painful for a while, but now it's going to be six weeks soon, and it says that it's strong enough at the moment to resist the tensions. 

“I had a test on the sim, went well. I think it's a similar environment than the cockpit, it's actually if anything nearly identical. So if it's fine on the sim with the adrenaline on track and everything, I think I should be okay. 

“The training sessions have not been fun because I've been doing basically nothing with the left limb. So, yeah, it's been a bit boring.” 

Hadjar admitted he found life away from F1 “boring” when he was restricted to watching from the sidelines. 

“Just competition. Just the pressure and the fight out on track,” Hadjar replied when asked what he missed the most during his F1 absence. 

“When you step out and you realise that life is a bit flat and boring, you just want to come back. It’s been a few frustrating couple of weeks. So, now it's good to come back to the fight.”

On his goals for the upcoming Baku weekend, Hadjar added: “The car is competitive and I just want to be in the fight with the guys ahead.”