Isack Hadjar Returns to Red Bull Cockpit for Azerbaijan GP

Isack Hadjar will climb back into a Red Bull cockpit in Baku this week, ending a three‑race spell on the sidelines and restoring the team’s original 2024 line-up alongside Max Verstappen.

The 21-year-old Frenchman missed the rounds in the Netherlands, Monza and Madrid after injuring his wrist in a boxing session, a freak setback that briefly halted an encouraging first full season. Red Bull confirmed he has made a “full recovery” and will return for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, held from 24–26 September on the unforgiving streets of Baku.

His stand-in, Liam Lawson, now steps aside. The New Zealander was drafted in at short notice and handed one of the most pressurised seats in the sport, yet produced a calm, composed run of drives. He finished seventh at Zandvoort, sixth in Madrid and only slipped out of the points at Monza with 14th place.

Red Bull underlined that contribution in a statement, thanking Lawson for his “professionalism, dedication and hard work” and highlighting the “impressive performances” he delivered under difficult circumstances. The 24-year-old will now return to the company’s junior outfit, Racing Bulls, his reputation enhanced after another solid audition at the top level.

Looking Ahead

For Hadjar, Baku marks a restart. He sits eighth in the drivers’ standings with 71 points, a respectable tally that still leaves room for a late-season charge if he can quickly rediscover rhythm and confidence after the lay-off. Sharing a garage with a four-time world champion in Verstappen, the margin for error is thin, the expectations anything but.

Street circuits are rarely kind to drivers who are even slightly undercooked. Hadjar comes back with his fitness cleared, his seat restored and his season finely poised. What he does with the reset in Azerbaijan will say a lot about where his Red Bull story goes next.