Isack Hadjar is aiming to be back in the Red Bull cockpit at Monza on September 4-6 after a boxing session over the summer shutdown left him with what Sky Sports described as “a small crack in a bone in his wrist”. The Frenchman sat out last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, with Liam Lawson called up from Racing Bulls and reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda parachuted back onto the grid alongside rookie Arvid Lindblad.

Mekies has already ruled out any gamble on a rushed comeback.

“Isack is alright. He suffered a minor injury in the summer break while training,” the team principal told Formula1.com.

“We have no reason to take any risk with him. We take zero risk, we let him sort out the recovery this weekend, and hopefully we’ll have him very, very quickly [back] in the car.”

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Marquez tells Hadjar to take his time

The two-week gap between Zandvoort and Monza this year, longer than the usual back-to-back scheduling, hands Red Bull room to keep Hadjar on the sidelines without formally ruling him out. Mekies has not been drawn on a harder deadline, and the team has consistently framed Monza as a target rather than a commitment.

Hadjar has also picked up an unlikely voice of caution. According to Autosport, MotoGP champion Marc Marquez, who shares a physiotherapist with the Red Bull driver, told the 21-year-old not to race in the physical condition he was in at Zandvoort.

Lawson delivered at Zandvoort

Lawson finished seventh at Zandvoort on his return to the top team, while Max Verstappen crashed out of his home race and Lando Norris won ahead of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

It was the second time Lawson has raced for Red Bull. He was demoted to Racing Bulls after just two weekends at the start of 2025, and Mekies believes he has earned the recall.

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“It’s been a very difficult first two races last year for him with the team,” Mekies said of Lawson.

“The level of performance he has been showing ever since … I think it’s very well deserved that he gets that chance.”

Eighth in the standings before the injury

Hadjar was eighth in the drivers’ championship before he was sidelined, on the back of seven consecutive points-scoring races. Once he is cleared, Lawson will drop back to Racing Bulls, Tsunoda will return to reserve duty, and Red Bull’s Verstappen-Hadjar pairing will resume.

The Italian Grand Prix runs at Monza from September 4-6.

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