Red Bull confirmed on 22 September 2026 that Isack Hadjar will return to his race seat at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, ending a three-race absence caused by a wrist injury and setting off a reshuffle that sends Liam Lawson back to Racing Bulls and Yuki Tsunoda back to his reserve role with both Red Bull outfits.
Hadjar, the 21-year-old Frenchman, injured his wrist while boxing during fitness training in the August summer break and was advised to avoid driving while he recovered. Lawson was promoted from Racing Bulls to cover his seat at the senior team for the Dutch, Italian and Spanish Grands Prix, while Tsunoda stepped up from his reserve duties to fill Lawson’s place at Racing Bulls alongside Arvid Lindblad. Red Bull said in a statement on Tuesday morning that Hadjar had made a full recovery and would return to the Baku City Circuit on Thursday 24 September.
The team also thanked Lawson, describing his stint as characterised by professionalism, dedication and hard work, and saying he had delivered impressive performances under challenging circumstances. Racing Bulls similarly expressed gratitude to Tsunoda and confirmed his return to reserve duties.
What Lawson and Tsunoda delivered in three races
Lawson accumulated 14 points across his three Red Bull appearances, according to Autosport. He finished seventh at Zandvoort and sixth in Madrid, but failed to score at Monza, where he started from the back of the grid after taking power-unit penalties and was later forced to pit following contact with Nico Hulkenberg that damaged part of his front wing. He returns to Racing Bulls for the remainder of the campaign alongside Lindblad.
The Race noted that Lawson’s average of 4.7 points per event fell some way short of Verstappen’s return of 12 points per race over the same three rounds, a period in which the Dutchman took podiums at Monza and in Madrid despite crashing at Zandvoort. Yet The Race also reported that those at Racing Bulls had already spoken positively about a step change in Lawson’s approach and energy-management skills during the first half of the season, and that the team had been intending to retain him alongside Lindblad regardless of the Red Bull interlude. His ability to settle quickly into an unfamiliar car was seen as confirmation of those qualities rather than a revelation.
Tsunoda scored a single point in his three Racing Bulls appearances, finishing tenth at Monza, according to Crash F1. He had come close to adding another at Zandvoort before Pierre Gasly passed him late in the race, while damage in Madrid prevented him from challenging for points there. The Race reported that Tsunoda adapted quickly to the 2026 car, qualifying only a tenth of a second slower than Lindblad on his first Saturday back, and described him as a reliable stand-in who backed up what four prior seasons at the team had already demonstrated.
The counsel Hadjar sought during recovery
During his rehabilitation, Hadjar sought advice from MotoGP champion Marc Marquez, who fractured his right humerus in 2020 and subsequently worsened the injury by returning to competition too soon, requiring multiple surgeries in the years that followed, according to Autosport. Marquez advised Hadjar that it was better not to rush, telling him, as reported by Autosport, that missing one race would not change his life, whereas worsening an injury by coming back too early could. Crash F1 also reported that Marquez’s counsel centred on avoiding the kind of premature return that had complicated his own recovery.
An earlier-than-usual race schedule in Baku
Hadjar’s first time back in the car will be during Thursday’s practice sessions on 24 September. Sky Sports F1 reported that the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend has been moved a day earlier than usual to avoid a clash with the country’s Remembrance Day on Sunday 27 September, meaning qualifying falls on Friday 25 September and the race itself on Saturday 26 September at midday UK time.
Championship context and the triple-header ahead
Hadjar returns eighth in the Drivers’ Championship with 71 points, trailing team-mate Verstappen by 74 points, according to BBC Formula 1 and Sky Sports F1. Sky Sports also noted that a deficit of 23 points to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at the time of his injury had grown to 49 points across the three missed rounds, illustrating the direct cost of the absence in standings terms.
His overall tally did receive a quiet boost during the break: Autosport reported that his Monaco Grand Prix third place, which had been removed when post-race penalties were rescinded, was reinstated after successful appeals by McLaren and Red Bull over Gasly’s pitstop speeding penalties.
The Baku race opens a triple-header that also takes in Malaysia and Singapore on the following two weekends, as reported by Sky Sports F1. The Race observed that the run will test Hadjar’s physical rehabilitation as much as his pace, and noted that in the first eleven races of the season he averaged 6.5 points per event compared with Verstappen’s 9.9 — placing him consistently one or two positions behind his team-mate. The Race also pointed out that Red Bull currently sits fourth in the constructors’ championship, meaning a functional second car carries genuine competitive weight as the team attempts to close on the outfits ahead of it.