Motor racing-Injured Hadjar to miss Dutch GP, Lawson steps in for Red Bull

Aug 19 (Reuters) – Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar is set to miss this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix after the French-Algerian driver sustained a wrist injury in training, with Liam Lawson stepping in as his replacement, the Formula One team said on Wednesday.

New Zealander Lawson, 24, races for Racing Bulls, Red Bull’s sister team traditionally used to develop young drivers. He is ninth in the drivers’ standings.

A one-race promotion would mark a temporary return to the Red Bull setup for Lawson, who made his Formula One debut at Zandvoort in 2023 after replacing Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri when the Australian suffered a broken wrist.

“The Team wishes Isack a speedy recovery and thanks Liam for stepping in on short notice,” Red Bull said in a statement.

Former Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda, 26, will fill Lawson’s seat at Racing Bulls alongside British-Swedish rookie Arvid Lindblad. Tsunoda lost his full-time drive at the end of last season and was reassigned as test and reserve driver for both Red Bull and Racing Bulls.

Hadjar is eighth in the standings with 68 points, while his teammate, four-times Formula One world champion Max Verstappen, is sixth with 109. In December last year, Red Bull announced that the 21-year-old Hadjar would replace Tsunoda for the 2026 season.

“We thank both Liam and Yuki for their adaptability as the teams prepare for the weekend and we wish Isack a speedy recovery,” Racing Bulls said.

The Dutch Grand Prix is the 12th round of the Formula One season, with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza scheduled two weeks later.

(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik and Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Christian Radnedge)