Hadjar Misses Monza as Lawson Continues in Red Bull Seat

Isack Hadjar will miss a second consecutive Formula 1 weekend, with Red Bull opting to keep the French rookie on the sidelines for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and extend Liam Lawson’s stand‑in spell.

Hadjar fractured his wrist ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort and has chosen the long view over a rushed comeback. He has even turned to MotoGP great Marc Marquez for guidance, a rider whose 2020 return from an arm break spiralled into a career-altering saga. The message from that cautionary tale is clear: one race is never worth a long-term setback.

Red Bull is echoing that stance. The team says it is “closely monitoring” Hadjar’s rehabilitation and, despite “encouraging progress”, insists it “will take no unnecessary risks with his return”. In a season where margins are brutal and calendars relentless, they are drawing a firm line between bravery and recklessness.

For Lawson, it means another shot at the sharp end.

The New Zealander impressed on his first outing in the RB22 at Zandvoort, bringing the car home in seventh in the grand prix and looking immediately at ease in the midfield fight. It was a composed, error-free drive in treacherous conditions, the kind of debut that quietly changes how a paddock talks about you.

“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,” Lawson said. “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.”

Now he heads to Monza, a completely different beast. Low downforce. High speed. Endless slipstream games. With a full race weekend already banked, Lawson arrives with rhythm rather than nerves, and the rare luxury for a reserve driver: continuity.

The internal Red Bull rotation will be busy again.

Lawson will run the full weekend schedule in the RB22, while Max Verstappen will hand his car to Ayumu Iwasa for first practice. That session will tick off another of Red Bull’s mandatory rookie outings for the season, a box every team must complete but few approach with as much depth of young talent.

As at Zandvoort, Yuki Tsunoda will step back into his usual Racing Bulls seat, with Lawson remaining in the senior operation. It’s an unusual configuration on paper, but one that underlines Red Bull’s commitment to giving its next wave of drivers real mileage, not just simulator laps and photo shoots.

Hadjar, meanwhile, watches Monza from the garage or the sofa, depending on how cautiously the team wants to manage his recovery. The temptation to rush back into a Formula 1 cockpit is enormous, especially when others are seizing chances in your absence.

Red Bull’s stance leaves no room for doubt: Hadjar’s future matters more than one Italian Grand Prix. The real question now is what that future looks like once he’s fit, and how hard Lawson and Iwasa plan to make his path back.