Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
A sixth-place finish in Madrid was never going to be enough for Liam Lawson to retain his seat at Red Bull and that has been confirmed with Isack Hadjar returning for this week’s Azerbaijan grand prix after recovering from the wrist injury which kept him out of three Formula 1 races.
Lawson will now retake his usual seat at Racing Bulls after replacing Hadjar in the Dutch, Italian and Spanish races.
Hadjar injured his wrist during F1’s mid-season break, reportedly during a boxing workout, and was sidelined with a splint on his arm as he recovered. While Liam Lawson took over his car Yuki Tsunoda filled in at Racing Bulls.
“The team would sincerely like to thank Liam for this professionalism, dedication and hard work over the past three races,” said Red Bull.
“Stepping in under challenging circumstances, he delivered some impressive performances and made a valuable contribution to the team.”
This week’s race in Azerbaijan is, unusually, on a Saturday because of a public holiday. That means practice on Thursday and qualifying Friday.
Lawson adapted fast on his return to Red Bull as Max Verstappen’s teammate, with his sixth in Madrid a strong statement from the New Zealander after he was dropped by Red Bull two races into the 2025 season.
Verstappen said Lawson and Tsunoda’s ability to be “immediately competitive” in unfamiliar cars was a sign that this season’s F1 cars — which Verstappen has repeatedly criticised — are “numb to your driver inputs” and offer limited ways for the best drivers to distinguish themselves.
During his absence, Hadjar was reinstated to third place at the Monaco Grand Prix after appeals about penalties issued to Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
