Isack Hadjar Cleared to Race for Red Bull in Baku After Injury

Isack Hadjar is back. Six weeks after a freak wrist fracture in the gym stopped his season cold, 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, just before the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. A routine training session turned costly, leaving Hadjar unable to handle the steering loads of a modern F1 car and forcing Red Bull to park him for three consecutive races in the Netherlands, Italy and Spain.

Red Bull refused to gamble. With a street circuit like Baku looming on the calendar and the physical demands of the 2026 machinery, the team opted for caution rather than a rushed comeback.

Hadjar has spent the break watching others race his car, a first in his career and, by his own admission, a jarring experience. Now the tone has flipped.

He spoke of being “just so excited to get back into my car” and underlined how unforgiving the Baku layout can be, calling it a circuit “you need to be locked in for from the very start of the weekend”. No easing into this one: walls, long straights, heavy braking zones, and no margin for a hesitant wrist.

The 20-year-old also paid tribute to Red Bull’s patience during his recovery, thanking team principal Laurent Mekies and the wider squad for not pushing him back into the cockpit too soon. For Hadjar, the message is simple: the time away is over, and the focus returns to what he describes as “what I do best – driving.”

Lawson’s audition ends, for now

Hadjar’s absence opened a rare window of opportunity. Liam Lawson stepped up from Racing Bulls and made his case in style.

At Zandvoort he delivered seventh place, then backed it up with sixth in Spain, a tidy haul that underlined his race craft and composure in a top seat. The Monza weekend told a harsher story, but not one entirely of his making.

An engine penalty dumped Lawson at the back of the grid in Italy, and any hopes of a charge through the field vanished when contact with Nico Hulkenberg damaged his front wing. From there, it became a salvage operation.

Even so, Lawson could reflect on the stint with a degree of satisfaction. He pointed to scoring in two of the three races and highlighted the underlying pace, with Monza compromised by circumstances as much as performance.

For a driver who endured a bruising start to 2025, when he was dropped by the main Red Bull team after only two races, this run mattered. It was a reminder that he can deliver when the call comes, even under pressure and with little preparation time.

Now the carousel spins again. With Hadjar restored to his seat, Lawson heads back to Racing Bulls, where he had been the regular driver before his short promotion.

Tsunoda shuffles back to reserve role

That reshuffle triggers another move. Yuki Tsunoda, who had been drafted in as Lawson’s stand-in at Racing Bulls, returns to his reserve driver duties.

Tsunoda adapted quickly to the demands of the 2026-spec cars and even grabbed a point at the Italian Grand Prix, a result that showcased his readiness despite limited running. That finish is still under a cloud, though, as Audi’s appeal over a grid formation issue following an early red flag remains unresolved.

The legal wrangling will play out in the background. On track, the picture is clearer.

Hadjar is fit. Red Bull has its chosen driver back for one of the trickiest races of the year. Baku’s walls will show, very quickly, whether the lay-off has left any rust – or simply sharpened his hunger.