Red Bull waits until Wednesday on Hadjar's Monza return

Red Bull's driver arrangements for Monza will remain provisional for another day while Isack Hadjar continues the recovery from the wrist injury that kept him out at Zandvoort.

The team intends to make a decision on Wednesday, when Hadjar's wrist will be assessed before the Italian Grand Prix. The Frenchman has said that he is hopeful of returning, but Formula 1 offers few gentle ways to test an injury and Monza's kerbs are not among them.

Hadjar missed the Dutch Grand Prix after hurting the wrist during the summer break. Red Bull responded by moving Liam Lawson into Hadjar's car alongside Max Verstappen, while Yuki Tsunoda returned to Racing Bulls to partner Arvid Lindblad.

Lawson finished seventh at Zandvoort and gave Red Bull a useful reserve option without disrupting the wider driver group. If Hadjar is not cleared, the same arrangement is expected to remain in place for Monza.

The decision is therefore less about finding a substitute than deciding whether Hadjar can complete a full Grand Prix weekend without making the injury worse. Steering loads at Monza are not the highest of the year, but the circuit still asks the drivers to attack kerbs and make corrections in the car through high speed corners.

Hadjar's absence in the Netherlands came at an awkward moment, as he had been due to begin his first full run of races with Red Bull after the summer break. There is little value in bringing that return forward by one weekend if it creates a longer problem.

Wednesday should provide the answer. Until then Lawson, Tsunoda and the two teams will prepare for both versions of the weekend.