Liam Lawson Retains Red Bull Seat for Italian Grand Prix

Liam Lawson will stay in the Red Bull hot seat alongside Max Verstappen for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, with Isack Hadjar still sidelined by a wrist injury.

Red Bull confirmed the decision overnight, ending any lingering suspense over whether Hadjar would make a rapid return. He had spoken optimistically about racing on Sunday, but the comeback will have to wait. The Frenchman now misses a second consecutive race.

Lawson, who stepped up from Racing Bulls at Zandvoort, keeps Hadjar’s race seat at Red Bull. That continuity triggers a second outing of the season for Yuki Tsunoda, who once again takes over Lawson’s usual drive at Racing Bulls.

“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,” Red Bull announced on social media, adding that the team is “closely monitoring his rehabilitation” and will “take no unnecessary risks with his return to competition.”

There is still no indication whether Hadjar will be ready in time for next week’s Spanish Grand Prix. For now, the team keeps its cards close and its driver line-up unchanged.

Hadjar’s layoff began at last month’s Dutch Grand Prix, where he appeared in the paddock wearing a wrist brace after injuring himself just days before the race, reportedly during a boxing workout. He watched from the sidelines at Zandvoort as Lawson seized his chance, delivering a composed drive to seventh place. Tsunoda, making his own F1 return after being dropped by Red Bull in December, finished 11th.

The enforced spectator role has clearly grated on Hadjar. In a Red Bull video from the Dutch weekend, he admitted how alien the situation felt.

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

Monza will now arrive without him, but with Lawson’s stock rising fast. The New Zealander is in the midst of his strongest Formula 1 campaign, sitting ninth in the standings, one place behind Hadjar, and already holding almost double the points of Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad. That form has forced Red Bull’s hand, dragging Lawson back into the senior team just a year after he was dropped after only two races in 2025.

He returns to Monza not as a stopgap, but as a man with momentum and a rare second chance in a team that rarely looks back.