Lawson finished sixth at the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, the strongest result of a 2026 season that began at Racing Bulls and has continued in Red Bull’s second car while Hadjar recovers from a wrist injury sustained in training over the summer break.

The New Zealander scored points in two of his three outings deputising for Hadjar, taking seventh at Zandvoort and sixth in Madrid, with a Monza weekend in between that ended outside the points.

“Nothing wrong with Isack’s recovery”

Mekies has told reporters the plan has not changed as Baku approaches.

“There is nothing wrong with Isack’s recovery. I think we have learned that it’s fundamentally normal time for the sort of injuries he has,” Mekies said.

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The team will assess Hadjar in the simulator this week before deciding whether he races at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 24-26 September.

“If he feels close to 100 per cent, we go for it. If he feels the recovery is not completed, we will stick [with] our approach to put his recovery first,” Mekies said.

Sky Sports reported that the final call could come as late as the Wednesday or Thursday of race week.

Mekies rates Lawson’s three-race stint

Mekies has also been open about what Lawson has delivered in three consecutive Grand Prix weekends.

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“I think he’s done a very good job,” Mekies said, adding that Lawson “has done that to the best of what could have been our expectations.”

Lawson himself has been more measured. He qualified eighth in Madrid, finished sixth and picked up eight points in a race won by Kimi Antonelli.

“It’s been overall quite positive; managed to score in two of the three,” Lawson told reporters. “This weekend was the first time where I felt like we could really fight.”

He also flagged the mental strain of being on standby between two cars.

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“It’s a lot of time at the factory and doing a lot of extra preparations,” Lawson said. “This week off won’t be much of a week off.”

The 2027 question is already open

Across the pit lane at Racing Bulls, team principal Alan Permane used the phrase that has followed Lawson’s stint around the paddock, though he applied it to his own team’s 2027 planning rather than to the Red Bull seat. Permane’s two options at Racing Bulls are Lawson and junior driver Arvid Lindblad.

“I’ve got two fantastic drivers in Liam and Arvid as well. So it’s a nice problem to have,” Permane said.

Hadjar sits on 71 points in the drivers’ standings, twelve clear of Lawson on 59, a gap that has closed while Lawson has been in the faster car. Baku will decide whether he gets a fourth Red Bull start to keep closing it.

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