Liam Lawson to Drive for Red Bull at 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 call overnight, ending Hadjar’s hopes of making a swift comeback after he targeted this weekend for his return. Instead, the Frenchman will miss a second race, his recovery judged too important to rush.

Lawson, fresh from an assured drive to seventh at Zandvoort after stepping up from Racing Bulls, keeps Hadjar’s place at the senior team. That continuity opens the door again for Yuki Tsunoda, who gets a second outing with Racing Bulls in Lawson’s usual seat after finishing 11th on his F1 return in the Netherlands.

“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 said on social media, adding that the team is monitoring Hadjar’s rehabilitation closely and “will take no unnecessary risks” with his comeback.

There is still no clarity on whether Hadjar can make it back in time for next week’s Spanish Grand Prix. For now, the only certainty is that he remains a frustrated spectator.

Hadjar first picked up the injury in the days leading into last month’s Dutch Grand Prix, reportedly during a boxing workout. He spent that weekend on the sidelines wearing a wrist brace, watching Lawson seize his opportunity in the Red Bull and Tsunoda feel his way back into the rhythm of racing.

In a team video from Zandvoort, Hadjar did not hide his irritation at being forced out of the cockpit. “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. The only consolation was the medical update: “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.”

That hope has gone. The caution remains.

For Lawson, though, the decision caps a quietly impressive campaign. The New Zealander is in the middle of his strongest season in F1, sitting ninth in the standings, one place behind Hadjar but with almost double the points of Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad. That form has dragged him back into the Red Bull picture, less than a year after the team dropped him following just two races in 2025.

Now he heads to Monza, back in a front-running car, with a second straight chance to prove he belongs there — and with Hadjar’s seat effectively the prize in a battle that’s being fought on the stopwatch and in the medical room.