Hadjar Misses Third Race as Lawson Continues Red Bull Stint in Madrid

Isack Hadjar’s wait for a full grand prix debut with Red Bull goes on. His fractured wrist still hasn’t healed enough for racing, so the Frenchman will miss a third consecutive weekend as Formula 1 heads to Madrid for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The call opens the door once more for Liam Lawson. After stepping in at Zandvoort and Monza, the New Zealander stays alongside Max Verstappen for a third straight race, with Yuki Tsunoda continuing at Racing Bulls.

Red Bull confirmed the decision in a statement, stressing both continuity and caution over Hadjar’s recovery. The team said Lawson will again partner Verstappen in Madrid, while Hadjar travels with the squad but remains out of the cockpit as his wrist continues to mend. The message from Milton Keynes is clear: no risks, no rush — but they expect him back “very soon”.

Hadjar’s injury came in innocuous fashion during the summer break, a hairline fracture suffered in a boxing workout that has now ruled him out of the Dutch, Italian and Spanish Grands Prix. For a driver on the brink of a breakthrough season, it is a brutal interruption.

Lawson, though, has seized the opportunity. At Zandvoort he qualified just a tenth behind Verstappen, then converted that pace into seventh place in the race — a stark contrast to his two early 2025 outings with Red Bull that ended with him being dropped. That weekend in the Netherlands felt like a quiet statement: give me the car, and I’ll give you points.

Monza was messier. The raw speed was still there, but the session never quite came together. Lawson went out in Q2 after being impeded by Oscar Piastri on his best lap, then started from the pit lane on Sunday due to engine penalties. His race unraveled at the early standing restart when contact with Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg forced a front-wing change. From there it became a damage-limitation run to 14th, while Verstappen climbed onto the podium.

If Lawson’s audition has swung between impressive and interrupted, Tsunoda’s recent form at Racing Bulls has been steady and quietly effective. The 26-year-old has pieced together two strong weekends, finishing just ahead of team-mate Arvid Lindblad at Zandvoort before grabbing a point with 10th place at Monza.

That Monza result, though, may not be safe. Audi are preparing an appeal over Tsunoda’s role in the standing restart drama, when he pulled into the wrong grid slot and triggered an extra formation lap. The incident didn’t derail his race, but it has given rivals a procedural foothold to challenge the outcome.

Tsunoda’s performances come against a backdrop of uncertainty over his long-term future. Dropped by Red Bull last season, he made no secret before the Italian Grand Prix that he is effectively on the market for 2027, openly inviting interest while acknowledging how hard it is to secure a seat in Formula 1. For a driver once seen as a short-term experiment, these consistent points finishes matter.

Madrid now stages the next chapter. Lawson has another chance to prove he belongs in the front-running conversation, Verstappen resumes his relentless title push, Tsunoda fights to turn solid weekends into something more, and Hadjar watches from the garage, waiting for the wrist to heal and the door to finally open.