Hadjar misses Madrid, Lawson drives alongside Verstappen at Red Bull for third consecutive race
Isack Hadjar will not compete in the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid because he has not yet recovered sufficiently from the wrist injury he sustained during the summer break. Oracle Red Bull Racing has confirmed that Liam Lawson will therefore drive alongside Max Verstappen for a third consecutive Grand Prix weekend, having already replaced the Frenchman at Zandvoort and Monza. At the same time, Yuki Tsunoda will remain with Racing Bulls, where he will once again be Arvid Lindblad's team-mate. Red Bull says that Hadjar's recovery is progressing positively, but that the driver is not yet ready to return to the cockpit. Hadjar will nevertheless be in Madrid and, according to the team's statement, will support the team from outside the car.
The decision means that the temporary reshuffling of drivers between the two teams in the Red Bull family will continue at one of the most eagerly anticipated new races of the season. Madring will host a Formula 1 World Championship race for the first time from 11 to 13 September 2026, with Formula 1's official schedule providing for the first free practice sessions on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday. It will be a completely new competitive environment for the drivers, so the fact that Lawson enters the weekend without previous Grand Prix experience at this circuit further increases the importance of every lap in practice. Hadjar, on the other hand, would, in the event of a premature return, have to cope simultaneously with the physical strain on his injured wrist and learning an entirely new sequence of corners. Red Bull has decided not to rush his return.
Recovery is progressing, but return has not yet been confirmed
Hadjar sustained the injury during the summer break, and on 19 August Red Bull officially announced that he would not compete in the Dutch Grand Prix because of it. At the time, the team did not announce a precise return date, instead stressing that it would monitor the driver's condition from race to race. The Frenchman then also missed Monza, and the decision for Madrid confirms that he will spend at least three consecutive Grand Prix weekends out of the car. In its latest statement, the team said that his recovery continues to move in a positive direction, but also that he is not yet ready to return. This means that there is currently no officially confirmed date on which Hadjar is expected to take over his RB22 again.
Such an approach is particularly understandable in Formula 1, where wrists and hands are subjected to heavy loads during steering, steering-wheel corrections, driving over kerbs and prolonged lateral forces. In Madring's case, an additional factor is the fact that none of the current drivers has racing experience on this configuration as part of the Formula 1 championship. Official information about the circuit lists 22 corners, a combination of public roads and purpose-built sections, as well as a series of heavy braking zones and elevation changes. On such a layout, a driver must quickly build a feel for the track limits, the car's behaviour and the places where the kerbs can be attacked. Red Bull clearly believes that this is not yet the right moment for Hadjar to face such a physical and technical challenge.
Hadjar's absence comes after a highly impressive first part of the season. According to the official Formula 1 standings after the Italian Grand Prix, the French driver is eighth in the championship with 71 points. Among his best results is third place in Monaco, and before the injury he put together several races in which he scored points. His season was therefore not merely a development year alongside Verstappen, but a period in which he established himself as an important points-scoring pillar for Red Bull. Every additional missed weekend therefore also has sporting consequences, even if the team's priority is for the driver to return fully fit.
Lawson gets a third consecutive opportunity at Red Bull
Liam Lawson will once again drive the car he took over immediately before Zandvoort. The New Zealander finished seventh there and scored points in his first appearance for Red Bull after a brief spell with the senior team at the beginning of 2025. He then finished 14th at Monza, after a weekend that also included power-unit-related penalties, so Madrid gives him another opportunity to show how quickly he can adapt to the demands of the RB22. According to Formula 1's official announcement, the continuity following Zandvoort and Monza is one of the reasons why Red Bull is keeping the existing driver line-up. Lawson will therefore once again share the garage with Verstappen.
For Lawson, this run of appearances is also important in the broader context of his career. After a very brief spell alongside Verstappen in 2025, he returned to Racing Bulls, where he once again rebuilt his form and reputation. Red Bull has now, at a moment when it needed to find a replacement for Hadjar quickly, once again assessed him as the most logical solution. Team principal Laurent Mekies previously told Formula 1's official website that Lawson knows the current generation of cars well and therefore fits the role of temporary replacement effectively. Three consecutive weekends with the senior team give him considerably more time to work with the engineers than he would have in a one-off emergency substitute appearance.
On the other hand, Lawson does not arrive in Madrid in a simple situation. Madring is a new circuit and all drivers will begin gathering data almost from scratch on Friday, but teams that have had the opportunity to carry out earlier promotional or simulator work may have at least a partial initial advantage. Ferrari, for example, completed a filming day at Madring with its car in July, subject to the restrictions that apply to such activities, so Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have already completed their first kilometres on the configuration. Lawson will rely on the simulator, team data and intensive learning during practice. On such a weekend, every mistake or session interruption can have a greater impact than at a circuit the drivers have known for years.
Tsunoda stays at Racing Bulls alongside Lindblad
Hadjar's absence once again moves another part of Red Bull's driver puzzle. Because Lawson is moving to the senior team, Yuki Tsunoda will continue to drive for Racing Bulls alongside Arvid Lindblad. After the end of his permanent stint at Red Bull, the Japanese driver took on the role of test and reserve driver for both affiliated teams, and Hadjar's injury returned him to the starting line-up. He finished 11th at Zandvoort and 10th at Monza, scoring his first point of the season. Madrid will therefore be his third consecutive appearance under the same temporary arrangement.
For Racing Bulls, continuity with Tsunoda reduces the need for another adaptation during the week between two races. Tsunoda knows very well the structure of the team with which he has spent most of his Formula 1 career so far, although the technical environment changed significantly in 2026 because of the new regulations. His experience can also be useful to Lindblad, who is in his first full season and is currently, according to the official standings, 11th with 29 points. Lawson, although currently competing for Red Bull, is still listed with Racing Bulls in the official drivers' standings and occupies ninth place with 51 points after Monza. The temporary substitution therefore affects the sporting dynamics of both teams at the same time, but does not change the drivers' underlying status until Red Bull announces otherwise.
After returning at Zandvoort, Tsunoda admitted that part of the environment felt as though he were going through a rookie phase again, despite having known the team and many of the people for years. The new technical regulations and different car mean that experience from previous seasons cannot simply be transferred to 2026. Nevertheless, a third consecutive weekend should allow him more stable preparation than he had at the time of the unexpected first call-up after the summer break. For Racing Bulls, this is particularly important at a new circuit, where a driver's ability to describe the car's behaviour and changes in grip precisely will be an important part of the accelerated setup development during Friday.
Madring brings a completely new challenge
The 2026 Spanish Grand Prix marks the beginning of a new era for the race as it moves to Madrid. Formula 1 states that Madring is 5.416 kilometres long, has 22 corners and that Sunday's race will be held over 57 laps, for a total distance of 308.524 kilometres. The configuration around the IFEMA Madrid complex combines urban roads and purpose-built sections, which means the circuit should have characteristics of both a street circuit and a traditional racing facility. Organisers and Formula 1 expect very high speeds on some of the straight sections, while walls and limited run-off areas in the urban sections increase the cost of a driver error. A first official Grand Prix at such a venue always also brings additional uncertainty regarding track evolution, grip levels and optimal strategies.
Madring's most recognisable element is Turn 12, called La Monumental. According to official Formula 1 data, it is a long banked corner with banking of up to 24 percent, around which a large spectator area is planned. The circuit also includes elevation changes and several heavy braking zones, which should create different overtaking opportunities and different compromise car setups. For the drivers, confidence when approaching the limits will be particularly important, because racing lines and reference points will constantly change during the weekend as the asphalt is cleaned and covered with rubber. That is precisely why Red Bull's decision not to bring Hadjar back before he is physically ready carries additional weight.
The official schedule for Madrid provides for the first free practice session on 11 September at 11:30 local time, the second at 15:00, the third practice session on 12 September at 10:30 and qualifying on the same day at 14:00. The race is scheduled for 13 September at 13:00 local time. In its preview of the weekend, Formula 1 stated that warm and sunny conditions are expected, with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius and a low probability of rain, although weather forecasts may change before the competition begins. High temperatures can additionally affect tyre management, cooling and the physical strain on the drivers. For Lawson, who is only in his third consecutive weekend working with the Red Bull car, this means another layer of adaptation.
Red Bull does not want to rush Hadjar's return
From a sporting perspective, Red Bull would like to bring Hadjar back as soon as possible, but the decisions so far show that the team does not intend to put the calendar ahead of medical readiness. The Frenchman is currently eighth in the championship, while Verstappen is sixth with 127 points, so every point can be important in the closing stages of the season. Nevertheless, a wrist injury carries a particular risk because throughout the weekend the driver must withstand a large number of fast and precise movements under load. A partial recovery sufficient for everyday activities does not automatically mean readiness for a Grand Prix distance. Red Bull is therefore currently speaking only about positive progress and a return in the near future, without setting a specific date.
Hadjar's presence in Madrid nevertheless suggests that he remains fully involved in the team's work. He will be able to follow technical meetings, compare Lawson's feedback with simulator data and take part in preparations for the following races. For a driver returning after a break, such continuity can be important because it reduces the loss of technical context while the car is developed during the season. At the same time, Red Bull gets the opportunity to monitor closely how Hadjar feels in a race-weekend environment, without the pressure of immediately sending him out on track. The next decision on his participation will depend on the further course of his recovery and the assessment of his readiness.
For Lawson and Tsunoda, Madrid is another opportunity to turn temporary roles into significant sporting results. Lawson will, for the third consecutive time, have a direct comparison with Verstappen in the senior team, while Tsunoda gets another weekend to show that he can be a reliable reserve and a competitive Racing Bulls driver. In Formula 1's new technical era, such appearances have value beyond an individual race, because they give teams additional data about drivers in different cars and conditions. For Hadjar, meanwhile, the most important result of the Madrid weekend will be continuing his recovery without aggravating the injury. Red Bull's line-up for Madrid is therefore simultaneously a pragmatic short-term solution and an important test of the depth of its driver roster.
Sources:
- Formula 1 β official confirmation that Liam Lawson will remain at Red Bull for Madrid, that Hadjar's recovery is progressing and that Yuki Tsunoda will continue at Racing Bulls (link)
- Formula 1 β official announcement of Hadjar's first absence at Zandvoort and the initial reshuffling involving Lawson and Tsunoda (link)
- Formula 1 β official schedule, circuit length, number of laps and basic characteristics of Madring (link)
- Formula 1 β preview of the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix with information about weather conditions and the weekend programme (link)
- Formula 1 β official 2026 drivers' standings after the Italian Grand Prix (link)
- Formula 1 β information about the Madring configuration, the La Monumental corner and the characteristics of the new circuit (link)