Hadjar faces Dutch Grand Prix assessment after wrist injury
NXTbets Pro | Published On: August 19, 2026
Hadjar wrist injury
Isack Hadjar is expected to miss the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort because of a wrist injury, but Red Bull has not officially confirmed his absence and his participation still depends on a final assessment. The injury came during a gym training session in the Formula 1 summer break, and it has put his weekend in doubt at a point when he has built one of the stronger starts in the midfield. Hadjar has 68 points and sits eighth in the drivers’ championship. His best finish this season came with a fourth-place run in Monaco, and he already has one Zandvoort breakthrough on his record after finishing third there last year for his first Formula 1 podium.
The timing matters because Zandvoort has already been a turning point in Hadjar’s short Formula 1 career. The Dutch circuit delivered his first podium and helped establish him as one of the more effective young drivers in the field. A wrist problem now interrupts that momentum and leaves Red Bull with a race-week decision to make. The team has kept its options open, and no replacement has been finalized. That uncertainty has kept the focus on Hadjar’s assessment before the Dutch Grand Prix rather than on any confirmed lineup move. If the injury keeps him out, Red Bull will have to balance immediate race needs with the longer view on a driver who has been productive, consistent and already fast enough to matter in the championship fight.
Red Bull lineup
Liam Lawson is expected to step into Hadjar’s seat at Red Bull and join Max Verstappen if the team moves forward with the change for Zandvoort. That switch would set off a second move at Racing Bulls, with Yuki Tsunoda expected to take Lawson’s place there. Arvid Lindblad is among the drivers under consideration if Red Bull reshuffles further, which leaves the final grid picture open until the team makes its call. The situation has developed quickly because Hadjar’s status remains unresolved, and Red Bull has not locked in the replacement plan.
Lawson’s possible return to Red Bull would give the team a familiar option at a track that already sits in his Formula 1 backstory. He stepped in for Daniel Ricciardo at Zandvoort in 2023 after Ricciardo broke his wrist in practice, and that emergency call-up marked Lawson’s debut in the series. Another move into the Red Bull car would put him back in the same environment, this time as a candidate to steady the lineup rather than a late substitute. For Red Bull, the appeal is clear. Lawson has already shown he can be dropped into a live race weekend and deliver without much warning. That history matters when a team is facing a possible change on short notice and wants a driver who knows the circuit and the demands of the weekend.
Zandvoort context
Zandvoort now sits at the center of two driver stories, one about recovery and one about opportunity. For Hadjar, the track is where he took his first Formula 1 podium and one of the strongest results of his season. That makes the Dutch Grand Prix more than another stop on the calendar. It is the place where he first broke through, and it is the race he may have to miss because of the wrist injury he picked up during training. For Lawson, it is the place where his Formula 1 journey began in a sudden and high-pressure way. He answered the call in 2023 after Ricciardo’s injury and turned that chance into a full-time case for further opportunities.
The contrast gives the possible lineup change extra weight. Hadjar has been rewarded with points, pace and a clear upward trajectory. Lawson has remained in the frame because Red Bull has already trusted him in a difficult spot. Tsunoda and Lindblad are part of the wider picture if the team decides to make further adjustments, but the immediate focus stays on whether Hadjar can pass his final assessment and take part at Zandvoort. If he cannot, Red Bull will move quickly, and the ripple would reach both teams in its junior structure. If he can race, the team avoids a reshuffle and keeps a driver in place who has already delivered one of the season’s sharper stories.
