The Formula 1 paddock has been hit with a massive driver shakeup just days before the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix. Red Bull Racing’sIsack Hadjar is set to be sidelined for the upcoming race weekend at Circuit Zandvoort due to a sudden wrist injury.
The news was first circulated by motorsport journalist Erik van Haren, who noted that “Isack Hadjar could miss the Dutch GP due to a wrist injury.” The report added that the resulting domino effect would see Liam Lawson step up to the main Red Bull seat, while Yuki Tsunoda would return to the grid to fill the vacancy at VCARB.
Hadjar’s unfortunate injury forces the Red Bull family into a highly volatile, late-notice driver reshuffle ahead of the 12th round of the 2026 season.
Liam Lawson will immediately vacate his seat at the Racing Bulls (VCARB) squad to step into the senior Red Bull garage alongside four-time World Champion Max Verstappen. This represents a massive opportunity for the New Zealander, who previously made two Grand Prix starts for the senior Red Bull team in 2025 before being demoted back to the sister team. He now faces the monumental challenge of adapting to the blistering pace of the RB26 in a matter of days.
With Lawson’s VCARB seat suddenly vacant, Red Bull has called upon a familiar face to step in. Yuki Tsunoda, who was dropped from the Red Bull family at the end of the 2025 campaign in favor of Hadjar, will make an unexpected return to the Formula 1 grid as a substitute for the weekend.
An Eerie Zandvoort Parallel
For longtime fans of the sport, the situation feels incredibly familiar. Circuit Zandvoort appears to be a magnet for Red Bull driver wrist injuries—and massive opportunities for Liam Lawson.
Back in 2023, during Free Practice 2 for the Dutch Grand Prix, then-AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo crashed into the Turn 3 barriers, breaking a metacarpal in his left hand.
That exact injury forced Ricciardo out of the seat and paved the way for Liam Lawson to make his sudden, highly impressive Formula 1 debut as a substitute. Three years later, Lawson is once again benefiting from a Zandvoort wrist injury, only this time, he is stepping directly into the senior team’s machinery.