After a month away from the tracks, Isack Hadjar received the news he was waiting for. The French driver has been cleared by doctors to return to competition after fracturing his left wrist and will be present this weekend at the Grand Prix of Azerbaijan, where he will resume his place at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen.
The confirmation of his return came this Tuesday from the Austrian team. "Red Bull Racing is pleased to welcome Isack back this weekend. After a successful recovery from his wrist injury, Isack will return to compete on the streets of Baku this Thursday," the team stated.
With the medical clearance in hand, the Frenchman expressed his excitement about getting back behind the wheel of the RB22 and acknowledged that he went through an unusual time during his recovery. "I am very excited to get back in my car. The last month has been difficult for me; it’s the first time in my life that I’ve been away from racing and it’s a strange feeling that I have to get used to," Hadjar commented.
The driver also explained that he focused all his efforts on recovering to return as soon as possible and thanked the team's support. "As soon as I suffered the injury, I focused completely on my recovery to be able to return as soon as possible," he stated. He then added: "I want to thank Laurent [Mekies, director of the Red Bull team] and the team for their patience throughout this process. It was important not to rush the decision and now I feel ready to return to what I do best: drive."
The return will take place on a unique circuit like Baku, which demands precision due to its narrow streets and leaves little room for error. In that sense, Hadjar assured that he arrives prepared after having worked in the simulator. "Baku is a unique circuit where you need to be completely focused from the start of the weekend. Although it has been a while since I got in the car, our session in the simulator was positive and I am eager to start off on the right foot," he maintained.
Hadjar's absence had generated movement between the two Red Bull teams. In the Grand Prix of the Netherlands, Italy, and Spain, Liam Lawson temporarily took his place in the main team and had standout performances during that period, with a seventh place in Zandvoort and a sixth in Madrid, while Yuki Tsunoda covered the New Zealander's spot in Racing Bulls and managed to score a point for his 10th place in Monza. With Hadjar's return, Lawson will return to RB and Tsunoda will return to being a reserve driver.
When Colapinto Returns to Race
After his brilliant performance on Spanish soil, the Argentine will now travel to Baku for the Grand Prix of Azerbaijan. Due to the fact that Sunday, September 27, is Memorial Day in that country, in memory of those who fell during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the action will be moved up 24 hours: the competition will kick off on Thursday, September 24, with the first free practices and will conclude on Saturday, September 26, with the main race.
In his previous appearances on the urban circuit of the capital of the Asian country, the native of Pilar had very different results. In 2024, when he was still part of Williams, he finished eighth, scoring his first points as a Formula 1 driver, while in 2025, already with Alpine, he finished in 19th place out of 20, largely marked by the poor performance of his car that year.
