Red Bull team principal has opened up on Isack Hadjar’s health status after the French driver returned to action at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Hadjar had missed the previous three races with a broken wrist sustained while training over the summer break, being replaced by Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, but was finally ruled fit to return in Baku.

That return went swimmingly, with the 21-year-old (22 today, happy birthday Isack) converting fourth place on the grid into third in the race to secure the team’s first double podium finish since the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix 57 races earlier.

Mekies called his driver’s weekend ‘outstanding’ after Saturday’s action concluded, revealing that Hadjar was in no pain while driving the car – the goal the team had set to bring him back.

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Red Bull boss says Hadjar ‘back at 100 per cent’ after injury

“It was outstanding what Isack produced this weekend, really outstanding,” he said.

“At first, the most important thing is that he felt straight away good in the car, no pain, which means that everything we knew, every time that we met together in the last few weeks, and we said we would wait for Isack to come back at 100 per cent, because that’s a priority.

“Well, that’s what happened: He was in the car; he didn’t have any pain.”

Mekies: Hadjar raced cleverly with Verstappen

Mekies also praised Hadjar’s racecraft, particularly at a difficult track and on an afternoon where he and team-mate Max Verstappen were often running within a second of each other on track.

“Nonetheless, even without pain, it’s not an easy track to go back to, because there’s no margin for error,” he said. “And he has been building up his rhythm, session after session, very calmly, with a lot of positive energy.

“Already [in qualifying] to stick the car in P4 was a very, very strong result. The sort of race pace he showed on the medium, on the soft, is something that we had not seen before.

“So on the weekend of his return, he has raised the bar again. We say to each other very often that we have seen him adding something to the business every time he was going out on the track in the first part of the season; well, he is continuing to do that.

“And on top of that, allow me to say, he also raced extremely cleverly with Max. Very disciplined with his tyres, and it allowed us to have very strong teamwork between the two, between the pit wall, and ultimately produce the best result possible.”

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Lewis Hamilton has bemoaned the pace of his Ferrari at Saturday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, calling for a review into his disappointing weekend.

The seven-time world champion could only qualify sixth on Friday despite Max Verstappen’s engine issues and Kimi Antonelli’s crash, and finished in the exact same spot in Saturday’s race thanks to misfortune befalling both McLaren drivers.

As he intimated in both his radio communications and post-race interview, Hamilton felt that lack of pace keenly throughout the race, complaining of a lack of grip and failure to fire up his tyres on top of the team’s customary lack of straight-line speed.

The team’s struggles weren’t confined to Hamilton alone, with Charles Leclerc finishing in fourth, less than half a second ahead of 16th-placed starter Kimi Antonelli after being another beneficiary of Oscar Piastri’s inexplicable lock-up.

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Hamilton: I was just sliding around

Speaking to race engineer Carlo Santi on the radio after the chequered flag, Hamilton said: “We need to look into why we were so slow today. I had no grip, no front end…anyways…but, thanks for continuing to try guys. Not a great weekend overall.”

Talking a few minutes later to Sky Sports, he added: “It was a pretty bad race from my perspective. I mean, I just didn’t really go anywhere. I couldn’t keep up with the guys ahead, and I was struggling to keep the guys behind.

“Just lacking pace today. Generally through the whole weekend, I just couldn’t get the tyres to work. I weaved and weaved and weaved, but the tyres just wouldn’t switch on.

“In the race, at the end of the first stint, the tyres all of a sudden started to switch on and start working, and I started to do the same time as everyone ahead – or at least a couple of the guys ahead – and then we switched to the next tyre and it wouldn’t switch on the whole last stint of the race, so I was just sliding around.”

Hamilton deflects Horner speculation

He then deflected a question about Christian Horner’s comments linking himself with the Scuderia as the former Red Bull boss widens the net ever further for an F1 comeback and, when asked what Ferrari needed to do going forward, Hamilton said simply: “Keep trying.”

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The battle for pole position takes top billing at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix today (Friday September 25) with a thrilling Qualifying session in prospect.

The streets of Baku will roar with the sound of F1 engines for 60 nerve-tingling minutes as the best 22 drivers in the world battle for grid spots in Saturday’s big race.

The grid will be set 24 hours earlier than usual this year with the entire race weekend schedule moved forward to avoid a clash with Azerbaijan Remembrance Day on Sunday September 27.

Mercedes go into this crucial session as favourites to dominate once again on a circuit which has long straights and demands power.

Kimi Antonelli takes an 81-point title race lead into this weekend, with team-mate George Russell his nearest challenger and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton 101 points away.

At this stage it is very much the 20-year-old Italian’s to lose, but they still do have to run the races. A strong Qualifying session would take him another big step closer to becoming the youngest world champion ever.

We have all the schedule and TV details for you ahead of this afternoon’s session.

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What time is F1 qualifying today?

Qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes place today (Friday September 25), starting at 4pm local time (1pm BST).

We’ve converted it to your local timezone where you are, all available in the table below:

Qualifying – Friday September 25, 2026

How to watch 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying live on TV today

As ever, the UK options are Sky F1 for live coverage or Channel 4 for free-to-air highlights, while Apple TV now have the US rights (free trial available).

Local fans can watch the action free of charge on Idman TV.

Where to watch: F1 2026 broadcasters by region

* – A free seven-day trial of Apple TV is available for fans in the US, allowing them to watch the F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix for free this weekend.

F1TV Pro also carries coverage of the sport, depending on which territory you are in.

Please note if you click on a product link on this page, we may earn a small affiliate commission.

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