Red Bull Racing confirm Isack Hadjar return for Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2026

Oracle Red Bull Racing have announced that their driver Isack Hadjar will be returning to the grid for this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Hadjar suffered a wrist injury during the summer break, which led to him missing the Dutch, Italian, and Spanish Grands Prix. The Austrian outfit brought in Liam Lawson from sister team Racing Bulls to race alongside Max Verstappen for the three races. Lawson finished seventh and sixth in the Dutch and Spanish races, respectively, while having a non-scoring outing in Italy, where he finished 14th.

While Lawson stood in for Hadjar, Yuki Tsunoda raced in his stead for Racing Bulls. Tsunoda delivered a points finish to VCARB in Italy with a P10, while finishing P11 and P14 in the Netherlands and Spain, respectively. 

Lawson raced for Red Bull for a couple of races at the start of last season before being demoted to Racing Bulls. He was replaced by Tsunoda for the rest of the season, before Red Bull signed Hadjar as their second driver ahead of the 2026 F1 season. 

Red Bull Racing released the following statement conforming Hadjar’s return:

“Oracle Red Bull Racing is delighted to welcome Isack back this weekend. Having made a successful recovery from his wrist injury, Isack will return to action at the Baku City Circuit on Thursday. 

“The Team would like to sincerely thank Liam for his professionalism, dedication and hard work over the past three races. Stepping in under challenging circumstances, he delivered some impressive performances and made a valuable contribution to the Team. We wish him all the very best as he returns to Visa Cash App Racing Bulls.”

Racing Bulls, meanwhile, released the following statement on the matter:

“Liam returns to VCARB this weekend in Baku, with Isack having made a full recovery from his wrist injury. A huge thank you to Yuki for stepping in over the past three races, giving everything for the team and scoring some very valuable points.”