Liam Lawson replaces injured Isack Hadjar at Red Bull for Italian Grand Prix

Lineup continuity for Red Bull at Monza

Red Bull announced on Wednesday that Isack Hadjar will miss the Italian Grand Prix at Monza due to an unhealed wrist injury. The 21-year-old Parisian driver will be absent for a second consecutive round after also sitting out the Dutch Grand Prix in August. New Zealand driver Liam Lawson will again step into Hadjar's seat alongside Max Verstappen. Lawson previously secured a seventh-place finish for the team at Zandvoort, while Verstappen retired early following an opening-lap incident at his home race. Red Bull confirmed that its medical and management staff will avoid taking unnecessary risks regarding Hadjar's return to competitive racing.

Liam will drive alongside Max at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, while Isack continues to make encouraging progress following the wrist injury sustained during the summer break. The team is closely monitoring his rehabilitation and will take no unnecessary risks with his return to competition and wishes him a speedy recovery.

Secondary seat changes across the Red Bull structure

Lawson's temporary elevation to the senior Red Bull squad keeps Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda in the cockpit at Racing Bulls for the Monza weekend. Tsunoda, who lost his regular Formula 1 race seat after leaving Red Bull at the end of last season, returned to action at Zandvoort and finished in eleventh position. The 24-year-old Lawson was previously dropped by Red Bull after two races in the prior season before returning through Racing Bulls. At Monza, Tsunoda will partner British-Swedish rookie driver Arvid Lindblad in the sister team's garage. The driver adjustments take place while Red Bull holds fourth place in the constructors' championship standings, trailing Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren.

Injury recovery and guidance from MotoGP

Hadjar sustained the wrist fracture in a training session during the summer break, with reports indicating the injury occurred while boxing. While attending the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, Hadjar revealed that he reached out to multi-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez to seek advice from an athlete experienced with physical trauma and recovery periods. Hadjar noted that speaking directly to a fellow racer helped him accept the necessity of stepping aside temporarily.

We exchanged voice messages. I have his contact and I thought that if there was one rider who knew about injuries, it was him. I received a lot of medical opinions, but I wanted to talk driver to driver, to get the feeling of someone who has already been through that. And even he confirmed to me that it was not serious to stay on the bench for a weekend.

Championship status and target return in Madrid

Hadjar, who is contesting his debut season with Red Bull, initially hoped to recover in time for Monza after observing improved mobility during his rehabilitation in the Netherlands. Speaking during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, he described the unfamiliar experience of missing races due to physical trauma.

It's my first injury ever in my whole existence, career, whatever. So it's weird to be on the bench. I'm not happy about it, for me and for the team. It's not swollen, which is a good sign. Actually, it's healing fast. Every day I have a bit more mobility and I'm hopeful for Monza.

Hadjar currently occupies eighth place in the drivers' championship standings with 68 points, while Lawson ranks ninth with 49 points and Verstappen holds sixth place. With the Italian Grand Prix scheduled from Friday to Sunday, Hadjar is now aiming to make his competitive return at the Spanish Grand Prix the following weekend, when Madrid's newly constructed Madring circuit makes its debut on the Formula 1 calendar.