Hadjar expects to be able to race again in Baku despite painful wrist

Hadjar says he has a small fracture on the outside of his wrist. Surgery was not needed, but the wrist is still painful. The Red Bull driver told media present ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, including RacingNews365, which published his comments on 24 September. He has now been recovering for almost six weeks.

The injury occurred during training over the summer break. As a result, Hadjar missed the Dutch, Italian and Spanish Grands Prix. Liam Lawson took his place at Red Bull; Yuki Tsunoda occupied the seat left vacant at Racing Bulls. His physical preparation was also restricted: Hadjar says he did virtually nothing with his left arm during training.

His confidence in his return rests partly on a successful simulator test. Hadjar describes the conditions in the simulator as virtually identical to those in the cockpit and believes his wrist is now strong enough to withstand the load. If driving in the simulator goes well, he expects to be able to manage on the track too. That is his own assessment ahead of the weekend.

Hadjar thinks adrenaline will help him on the track. Whether his wrist can cope with the entire race weekend without problems remains to be seen when he returns.