with Liam Lawson again stepping into the Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen<\/a>.<\/p>\nHadjar has been absent since injuring his wrist while training ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, with the team refusing to bring the 21-year-old back until he feels completely comfortable behind the wheel.<\/p>\n
Team principal Laurent Mekies said there had been little debate over whether Hadjar should compete at the new Madring circuit once it became clear he was still short of full fitness.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an easy one. He didn\u2019t feel that he was 100 percent and that\u2019s the only criteria we used,\u201d Mekies told Sky Sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you 100 percent, and so it was an easy one for here.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always said we would prioritise him coming back at 100 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hadjar travelled to Madrid despite being unable to race, remaining with the team as his rehabilitation continues.<\/p>\n
The nature of the new Spanish Grand Prix venue also strengthened Red Bull\u2019s resolve not to take an unnecessary risk, with the tight and unfamiliar Madring layout providing a demanding environment for any potential comeback.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no point in throwing him into a track like today. Not feeling good and potentially delaying his full recovery,\u201d Mekies said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that\u2019s the assessments that we have done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Attention has now shifted towards the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in two weeks, giving Hadjar additional time before Red Bull must decide whether he is ready to reclaim the seat.<\/p>\n
Mekies offered an encouraging assessment of his progress and stressed there had been no setback in the recovery process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a bit more time before Baku,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd honestly there is nothing wrong with his recovery. The recovery is going as planned.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome things take time, and we will take the time to evaluate before Baku and to put him on the sim.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simulator running is therefore set to play an important role in determining whether Hadjar is capable of returning at the Baku City Circuit.<\/p>\n
The Azerbaijan weekend would also begin a demanding triple-header continuing through Malaysia and Singapore, increasing the importance of ensuring Hadjar is fully recovered before he resumes racing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Red Bull are hopeful Isack Hadjar will return at the next round in Baku. Image: XPB Images The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":888913,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,10114,14758,806,805,803,804,918,254732,85],"class_list":["post-888912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-isack-hadjar","tag-laurent-mekies","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-red-bull","tag-spanish-gp","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=888912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888912\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/888913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=888912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=888912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=888912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Red](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/XPB_1435096_HiRes.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRed Bull are hopeful Isack Hadjar will return at the next round in Baku. Image: XPB Images<\/p>\n