– There is another driver change at Red Bull. However, this time it is an involuntary swap, as Isack Hadjar will miss the Formula 1 race in Zandvoort this weekend due to injury. The Bulls officially confirmed this on Wednesday noon.
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“Isack Hadjar sustained a wrist injury during the summer break that will prevent him from starting at the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix,” said a statement from the team in Milton Keynes.
Hadjars’ cockpit in the RB22 alongside Max Verstappen will be taken over by Liam Lawson from the Racing Bulls. In turn, returning Yuki Tsunoda will step in for Lawson at the sister team in Faenza. The Japanese driver had lost his Red Bull cockpit to Hadjar after the 2025 season.
Hadjar will miss the Dutch Grand Prix, the very race where he achieved his only Formula 1 podium so far by finishing third for the Racing Bulls in 2025. For Lawson, on the other hand, it is the second chance at Red Bull.
The New Zealander already started the 2025 season alongside Verstappen but had to give up his cockpit again after just two point-less races in Australia and China and was sent back to the Racing Bulls.
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Lawson’s place at Red Bull was then taken over by Tsunoda, who himself was replaced by Hadjar for the 2026 season and has since been a reserve driver for the two Red Bull teams. The Japanese driver will thus return to the starting grid for the first time since the 2025 season finale in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
Lawson has so far impressed in the 2026 Formula 1 season with good results. He scored points eight times in the eleven races before the summer break and is currently “Best of the Rest” behind the drivers from the four top teams as ninth in the championship with 43 points.
It is still uncertain how long Hadjar will be out. Two weeks after Zandvoort, the next Formula 1 race is scheduled in Monza. A week later, the planned last European race of 2026 will already take place in Madrid.
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