Marquez urges Hadjar not to rush wrist recovery as Tsunoda steps in at Zandvoort

Isack Hadjar will sit out the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort after sustaining a wrist injury during a gym session last week, with Yuki Tsunoda called up to replace him at Racing Bulls and Liam Lawson handed a return to the Red Bull seat.

According to Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer, the team was informed on Friday of a potential driver change, with the situation crystallising on Tuesday when Tsunoda — who was on a beach in Greece at the time — was asked to step in. Lawson, demoted from Red Bull following the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix, takes the opportunity to make his case again in the sister car.

Hadjar, who claimed his maiden F1 podium in the Netherlands last year and had planned a special Delft blue pottery-inspired helmet design to mark the occasion this year, was eager to race regardless of the injury. Two separate voices, however, persuaded him otherwise.

Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies was unequivocal about the decision. “Isack is alright. We have no reason to take any risk with him. He has done a fantastic start of the season, he has been stronger and stronger every time he has been driving this car out of the garage, session after session, weekend after weekend. We take zero risk, we let him sort out the recovery this weekend, and hopefully we’ll have him very, very quickly back in the car,” Mekies told the official F1 website.

The second voice urging caution came from a more unexpected source: seven-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez. The Ducati rider and Hadjar share the same physiotherapist, Carlos J. García, and Hadjar reached out to Marquez directly after the injury. The Spaniard, currently fourth in the MotoGP standings, advised the young Frenchman not to rush his return and specifically cautioned against hurrying into certain medical procedures, reasoning that Hadjar is still early in his career and has plenty of time to recover properly.

Marquez speaks from considerable personal experience. The 31-year-old has suffered a broken right upper arm, a broken right thumb, and dislocated both shoulders across his career, among other injuries — setbacks that have shaped his understanding of the long-term cost of returning too soon.

Hadjar nonetheless made an appearance in the Zandvoort paddock on Friday morning, underlining how difficult it is for a competitive young driver to watch from the sidelines at a circuit where he has already stood on the podium.