Isack Hadjar has finally revealed how he suffered the wrist injury that forced him to miss two Formula 1 races, admitting he may need to “use a bit more” caution the next time he goes boxing.
Key Takeaways
- Hadjar fractured his wrist while boxing during the 2026 F1 summer break.
- The injury forced him to miss the Dutch Grand Prix and the following two rounds.
- The Racing Bulls driver described it as a small fracture on the outside of his wrist.
- Hadjar returned to action in Baku and finished on the podium despite the lengthy recovery process.
Hadjar Finally Confirms How He Broke His Wrist
Hadjar's wrist injury became one of the bigger talking points of the 2026 F1 summer break after the Racing Bulls driver was forced to miss the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
The French-Algerian driver suffered the injury while training during the break, prompting Red Bull and Racing Bulls to reshuffle their driver line-ups. His recovery timeline then became a source of speculation, particularly after MotoGP star Marc Marquez recommended that Hadjar sit out the Dutch Grand Prix.
Details surrounding the injury were also unclear initially. Sources close to the team indicated at Zandvoort that Hadjar had suffered the injury while boxing, but he did not publicly confirm it until after returning to the podium in Baku.
‘I Definitely Missed It’
After securing a podium finish in Baku, Hadjar admitted he was delighted to be back competing after what felt like an unusually long break.
“It's been a moment now,” he said. “I felt like I had, like, a whole winter break, which is not really what you want in the middle of the season. So, yeah, I definitely missed it.”
The Racing Bulls driver said he had particularly missed the intensity of qualifying and racing, including the adrenaline of Q3 laps and restarts.
“It's good to be back fighting with the other drivers. It's what I love to do,” Hadjar added.
He then joked about the activity that caused his lengthy absence, saying: “Hopefully I use a bit more my brain when I go boxing next time.”
Hadjar Previously Kept Details Quiet
Before confirming that boxing was responsible for the injury, Hadjar had largely avoided discussing how it happened. When asked during Wednesday's press conference in Baku whether the team had banned him from boxing during training in the future, he simply replied: “Next time I'll be more careful.”
Neither Hadjar nor Red Bull had previously disclosed specific details about the injury, leaving room for widespread speculation. Hadjar eventually provided more clarity in Baku, describing the problem as “a small fracture on the outside of the wrist” and stressing that recovery was “quite a long process”.
That description also differs from widespread reports that had claimed he suffered a fractured scaphoid, which is located on the thumb side of the wrist.
Why Wrist Fractures Can Take Time to Heal
Wrist injuries can be particularly difficult for athletes because the area remains in constant use, placing continued stress on the carpal bones even during everyday activity. That can complicate the healing process and, in some cases, prevent a fracture from properly knitting back together. This is why athletes are often advised to avoid training while recovering.
A typical recovery timeline can involve around six weeks in a splint, meaning Hadjar's return to the cockpit came at the earliest realistic stage of his recovery. Even after making his comeback in Baku, the Racing Bulls driver is likely to continue experiencing some discomfort for several weeks.
For now, though, Hadjar has already provided the response he would have wanted on track: a return to Formula 1 competition and a podium finish in Baku.
