Three GPs in the pits
The Spanish Grand Prix once again started with the absence on track of Isack Hadjar, in his first year at Red Bull. During the summer break, the French driver suffered an injury to his left wrist that forced him to miss the Dutch GP, the first scheduled after the break. Subsequently, the former Racing Bulls driver was unable to take part even in the recent Italian GP in Monza, and then also gave up Madrid, with the team calling Liam Lawson in his place.
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The Red Bull criterion
The team’s decision not to bring Hadjar back in Spain was quite simple, and this was confirmed to the microphones of Sky Sports F1 by team principal Laurent Mekies: “It was an easy choice – he commented – he did not feel 100% fit, and this is the only criterion we adopt. We have always said that the priority is his full recovery. It made no sense to put him on track here without feeling well, risking perhaps delaying the full recovery. This is the assessment we made.”
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The recovery plans
The next GP of the season will take place on the city circuit of Baku, Azerbaijan. Regarding the possible return of Hadjar for that event, scheduled for September 26, Mekies expressed optimism but did not want to guarantee the return of his driver: “We have a bit more time before Baku – he added – honestly, the recovery is proceeding smoothly and according to plan. Some things take time; so we will take the necessary time for evaluations before Baku and to have him work on the simulator.”
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