Isack Hadjar Returns to Red Bull for Azerbaijan Grand Prix After Injury

Isack Hadjar is back. Six weeks after a freak wrist fracture in the gym halted his season, the Red Bull driver has been cleared to race at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix on the streets of Baku.

The injury struck at the worst possible time, in the days leading up to the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. A routine training session turned costly, the damaged wrist leaving him unable to handle the forces of a modern F1 car. Red Bull shut the door on any talk of rushing him, ruling him out of the Netherlands, Italy and Spain while the bone healed.

Now the wait is over.

Hadjar, who has been sidelined from any racing for the first time in his life, made no attempt to hide what the comeback means to him. He described himself as “just so excited to get back into my car” and underlined how demanding Baku will be after a month out. The long straights, blind walls and low grip leave no room for hesitation.

“It is a circuit, you need to be locked in for from the very start of the weekend.”

The absence has clearly bitten. “The last month has been tricky for me; it's the first time in my life that I've not been racing and that's a weird feeling to get used to,” he admitted, before paying tribute to team principal Laurent Mekies and the Red Bull garage for refusing to gamble with his recovery.

“I want to thank Laurent and the team for their patience throughout this process; it was important not to rush the decision and now I feel ready to get back to what I do best – driving.”

While Hadjar healed, the car did not sit idle.

Liam Lawson stepped up from Racing Bulls and quietly put together a strong cameo for the senior outfit. He grabbed seventh at Zandvoort, then backed it up with sixth in Spain, turning limited preparation into solid points and reminding the paddock of the talent Red Bull once discarded.

Monza told a different story. An engine penalty dumped him at the back of the grid, and any hope of a charge vanished when contact with Nico Hulkenberg damaged his front wing. The result flattered neither his pace nor his effort.

Even so, Lawson was able to look back on the stand-in spell with some satisfaction. “It's been overall quite positive,” he said. “I managed to score in two of the three. I think Monza was tough just with the whole layout of the weekend, and then the engine penalty. Then obviously having damage in the race really ruined it for us. But I think overall we've had good speed.”

That audition is now on pause.

With Hadjar restored to full fitness, Lawson returns to his regular Racing Bulls seat, and the reshuffle continues down the line.

Yuki Tsunoda, who had been drafted in to cover Lawson at Racing Bulls, will step back into his usual reserve role. His brief run in the 2026 machinery was sharp enough to earn a point at the Italian Grand Prix, a result that still hangs in the balance as Audi’s appeal over a grid formation issue following an early red flag works its way through the system.

So the deck is reset.

Hadjar back at Red Bull. Lawson back at Racing Bulls. Tsunoda back in waiting.

Now comes Baku, a street circuit that punishes rust and rewards nerve. After a month watching others race his car, Hadjar will find out quickly whether patience in recovery was enough to keep his season on track – or whether the walls of Azerbaijan have one more twist in store.