Red Bull: Hadjar’s Madrid return looks tricky
Team principal Laurent Mekies admits the turnaround is too tight, as Montoya urges Red Bull to keep Lawson in the car for the inaugural Madring race.
Isack Hadjar looks set to miss a third consecutive Formula 1 race weekend. Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies cast serious doubt on the Frenchman’s chances of racing at next week’s inaugural Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, telling Canal+ on Friday at Monza: “Madrid is a few days from now, so that’s tricky.”
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Hadjar broke his wrist while boxing as part of his routine training during the F1 summer break. He missed F1’s return post-summer break at Zandvoort and is absent again this weekend at the Italian Grand Prix. Madrid, on 11-13 September, had been the next obvious target for his comeback. Mekies, though, was blunt on the timeline: “We’ll reevaluate his situation, but targeting Madrid probably is tricky.”
A Milton Keynes simulator test was not enough to clear him
The Red Bull boss added: “We’re taking things one race at a time and we’re looking at it together in a more rational way. The priority, what will influence our decision, is being sure he returns at 100% and with zero risks for his future.”
L’Equipe reports that Hadjar travelled to Red Bull’s Milton Keynes headquarters last week and attempted a simulator session to establish whether the wrist could withstand the demands of driving. The test was not enough to clear him for Monza. The simulator finding matters here for a specific reason: a simulator cannot reproduce every force which passes through the steering wheel on a street circuit, and Madrid will contain more corners than Monza, offering little opportunity for a driver to rest an injured hand.
Lawson qualified within a tenth of Verstappen and finished seventh at Zandvoort
The man filling his seat has done nothing to make the decision easier for the team. With little preparation and only one practice session at Zandvoort, Liam Lawson closely matched Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen in qualifying and went on to score six points with a seventh-place finish. After being called up at short notice, the 24-year-old reached Q3 for the first time as a Red Bull driver and qualified just over a tenth behind Verstappen. Lawson currently sits ninth in the drivers’ standings with 49 points.
That context is worth keeping in mind. Lawson was dropped by Red Bull after just two races in 2025. F1 broadcaster Will Buxton has argued that Lawson’s career in the championship would likely have ended had he underperformed during his return at the Dutch Grand Prix. He did not underperform. He delivered. And now a second voice from outside the paddock is telling Red Bull to trust the data.
Montoya sees an opportunity Red Bull should not ignore
Former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes Red Bull should retain Lawson for next week’s inaugural Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, warning the team against prematurely rushing Hadjar back into the cockpit. Arguing on F1 TV’s Weekend Warm-Up, Montoya said: “If I were Red Bull, especially going into Madrid next week, I would go, ‘Hey, let’s be smart. We’re going to get a couple more weeks of recovery, and we’ll prepare Liam properly for Madrid because it’s a new track for everybody.'”
That last point is the sharpest one. The Madring is new to every driver on the grid. Nobody holds a data advantage. Arriving with a driver who has race rhythm in this car, against a field navigating a brand-new street layout blind, is not a small thing. Red Bull’s car has had its own challenges this season, and continuity in the cockpit at a circuit where no one has any lap time reference could be more valuable than sentiment about seniority.
Marc Marquez backs patience over haste
Hadjar has received advice from seven-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez, who urged him not to rush his return and risk potentially worsening the damage. Marquez, who himself raced through serious arm injuries during his MotoGP career with debilitating long-term consequences, is not someone whose counsel on this subject can be brushed aside lightly.
As frustrating as his continued absence will be for Hadjar, it is unlikely to be too consequential in the long term, with his contract expected to be extended to drive alongside Verstappen again in 2027. There was one piece of good news for the Frenchman on Thursday, when the FIA Court of Appeal reinstated two penalties for Pierre Gasly and changed the result of the Monaco Grand Prix, promoting Hadjar to third and giving him his first podium for Red Bull.
A third miss would give Hadjar three weeks before Baku
If Hadjar misses a third consecutive F1 race weekend, he would have almost three weeks before the next round at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 24-26 September. That is a meaningful window. Missing Madrid to arrive fully fit and race-ready in Baku is a rational calculation, not a surrender. Should Hadjar not be fit to return in Madrid, Lawson will continue to deputise at Red Bull, with Yuki Tsunoda replacing Lawson at sister team Racing Bulls.
Red Bull says it will take no unnecessary risks. Every signal from Monza on Friday pointed the same direction. Follow the championship picture as it develops on our F1 standings page.
