(Motorsport-Total.com) – Liam Lawson gets another chance at Red Bull. The racing team from Milton Keynes officially confirmed on Wednesday that Isack Hadjar is also unavailable for the Formula 1 race in Monza this weekend. The Frenchman had already missed the Grand Prix in Zandvoort two weeks earlier due to a hand injury.
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In a statement from the team it says: “Liam will start the Italian Grand Prix in Monza alongside Max, while Isack continues to make encouraging progress after the wrist injury he sustained during the summer break.”
“The team is closely monitoring his rehabilitation and will not take unnecessary risks when he returns to competition. We wish him a speedy recovery,” it says. It remains unclear when Hadjar will be able to get back in the car.
While Lawson will again be in the Red Bull for the Italian Grand Prix, reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda will take his place at the Racing Bulls alongside Formula 1 rookie Arvid Lindblad, as he did in the Netherlands.
Lawson finished qualifying in Zandvoort eighth, just one position and 0.115 seconds behind Max Verstappen in the second Red Bull. He finished the race seventh after Verstappen retired early due to an accident.
Team principal Laurent Mekies later explained on Sky that the New Zealander “got the best out of it” under the given circumstances in his first outing in the Red Bull RB22. Seventh place in the race was “probably the maximum.”
Expert Ralf Schumacher also expects a good result from Lawson in Italy. In the podcast Backstage Boxengasse he explains: “Monza […] is not such a difficult track. That means it can be assumed that it will again be a track where he will be very close to Max Verstappen.”
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Lawson himself says before the weekend: “It’s nice to hear that Isack is recovering well and will be back in the car soon. But it’s great to spend another weekend with the team.”
“Zandvoort gave me a really useful first impression of the car, and now that I have a complete sprint weekend behind me, I come to Monza with a much better understanding of the car and its capabilities.”
“It’s a completely different track, and there will be new challenges, but I’m looking forward to building on last weekend with the team and seeing what we can achieve,” said the New Zealander.
Yuki Tsunoda finished eleventh in his Formula 1 comeback in the Netherlands and his first race ever under the completely new regulations. He finished one position ahead of teammate Lindblad but narrowly missed out on championship points.
Max Verstappen will also miss a session in Monza. In the first practice, the four-time world champion will hand over his car to Ayumu Iwasa.
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