Lawson's Monza Recall as Red Bull Prioritizes Hadjar's Recovery

Red Bull has decided not to rush Isack Hadjar back into action, keeping the French rookie on the sidelines for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and handing Liam Lawson another full race weekend in the RB22.

Hadjar fractured his wrist ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort and skipped that round, and the team has opted for caution again. The 19-year-old has even turned to MotoGP great Marc Marquez for advice, taking note of how the Spaniard’s career was derailed when he tried to come back too soon from an arm break in 2020.

The message from Red Bull is clear: no gambles. The team says it is “closely monitoring” Hadjar’s rehabilitation and, despite “encouraging progress”, will “take no unnecessary risks with his return”.

That opens the door once more for Lawson, who impressed on his first outing in Zandvoort. Thrown into a high-pressure weekend, the New Zealander handled the chaos and changeable conditions to finish seventh in the grand prix, showing composure and speed in a car he barely knew.

“It’s good to hear Isack is recovering well and is back in the car soon, but it’s great to have another weekend with the team,” Lawson said.

Zandvoort, with its banking and unpredictable weather, gave him a crash course in life inside a Red Bull cockpit.

“Zandvoort gave me a really useful first reference in the car, and having a full sprint weekend behind me means I’m coming into Monza with a much better understanding of the car and what I need from it,” he added.

Monza, with its long straights and heavy braking zones, is a completely different test. This time, though, Lawson arrives with data, experience and a baseline. No more guessing at set-up from behind the curve; he knows how the RB22 reacts, and he knows what he wants from it.

He will run the full weekend programme again, but there will be a notable change on Friday. Max Verstappen will step out of his RB22 to allow Ayumu Iwasa to take over for a practice session, fulfilling part of Red Bull’s season-long requirement to give rookies four FP1 outings across the year.

The rookie carousel doesn’t end there. As at Zandvoort, Yuki Tsunoda will move across to replace Lawson in his usual Racing Bulls seat when required, keeping the wider Red Bull system turning while Hadjar focuses on healing properly.

So Lawson gets another shot on one of Formula 1’s most historic stages, Hadjar buys himself vital recovery time, and Red Bull keeps its future options open. At 350 km/h into Turn 1, Monza is no place to test a half-fit wrist.