F1 star speaks out about injury as Red Bull gets ready to make a last-minute call for the Italian GP
Red Bull and Isack Hadjar have cleared up why Hadjar missed the Dutch Grand Prix. He wasn’t at the Zandvoort race on August 23 because he hurt his wrist a little while working out ahead of the last race in the Netherlands.
Because of this, Red Bull brought in Liam Lawson from their Racing Bulls team. Yuki Tsunoda also came back to race alongside Arvid Lindblad in Formula 1.
Lawson did really well, finishing seventh. He’s now 19 points behind Hadjar in the driver’s championship. People are starting to wonder if Hadjar will be ready for the busy back-to-back races in Italy and Spain this September.
Hadjar shared, “This is actually my first injury ever, so it feels strange to be sitting out. I’m not happy about it at all, for me or the team. I want to be out there every lap.” He added that his wrist isn’t swollen, which is good news, and he’s getting more movement every day. He’s hopeful he can race in Monza.
Red Bull plans to decide if Hadjar will race in Italy just before the team arrives at the track, according to Planet F1. If Hadjar can’t race, then Lawson will likely step in again beside Max Verstappen, while Tsunoda will pair with Lindblad at Racing Bulls.
Lawson was moved back to Racing Bulls after starting the 2025 season with Red Bull because he found the step up challenging. But by the 2026 Zandvoort race, he was very close in qualifying to Verstappen, who is a four-time world champion.
Hadjar retired early in two of the first four races in 2026 but has finished in the points in nearly every other race, with his best results being fifth place in Canada and Silverstone. This season has been steadier for the 21-year-old from Paris, who only managed to do better than fifth once in his rookie year.
Last season, Hadjar made history at the Dutch GP when he finished third, earning his and Racing Bulls’ first-ever podium. He finished behind Oscar Piastri, the race winner, and Verstappen.
Hadjar was promoted to the main Red Bull team for the 2026 season, teaming up with Verstappen instead of Tsunoda, who is now a reserve driver for both teams.
Despite some talk about his future, Verstappen is still leading Red Bull’s charge. Although he crashed out early in his home Grand Prix, he’s currently sixth in the standings, 43 points behind fifth-place Charles Leclerc. Between them are championship leader Kimi Antonelli and British drivers George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, and Lando Norris.
Oscar Piastri is just ahead of the two Red Bull drivers, sitting in seventh place.