Liam Lawson will once again step into the Red Bull at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, with Isack Hadjar still recovering from the wrist injury that has kept him on the sidelines since the F1 summer break.
Red Bull confirmed that Hadjar, who injured his wrist whilst training during the shutdown period, has not recovered in time to race at Monza.
It means the same driver reshuffle used at Zandvoort will be deployed for a second consecutive weekend, with Lawson moving up from Racing Bulls to partner Max Verstappen while reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda fills the VCARB 03 alongside Arvid Lindblad.
Lawson finished seventh in his first outing in the RB22 at the Dutch Grand Prix, scoring six points despite a 10-second time penalty for failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags.
With Verstappen retiring after an early-race incident, the New Zealander was Red Bull’s sole points scorer on a difficult weekend for the team.
Zandvoort being a sprint weekend gave Lawson little track time to acclimatise to the car, but he nonetheless performed admirably, and the 24-year-old is eager to carry that momentum into what will be a very different challenge at Monza’s low-downforce, power-sensitive layout.
“It’s good to hear Isack is recovering well and is back in the car soon, but it’s great to have another weekend with the team,” Lawson said.
“Zandvoort gave me a really useful first reference in the car, and having a full sprint weekend behind me means I’m coming into Monza with a much better understanding of the car and what I need from it.
“It’s a completely different track, and there’ll be new challenges, but I’m looking forward to building on the last weekend with the team and seeing what we can do.”