(Photo credit: Ramil Sitdikov)

Red Bull announced Wednesday that Isack Hadjar's contract has been extended through the 2027 Formula 1 season.

Hadjar, 21, joined Red Bull's Junior Team in 2022 and rose through the Formula 3 and Formula 2 ranks before earning his first F1 seat with Racing Bulls in 2025. The Frenchman was promoted to the main Red Bull team this year to drive alongside four-time world champion Max Verstappen, replacing Yuki Tsunoda.

Hadjar has a pair of podium finishes in 2026, but has missed the past three races due to a small fracture in his wrist suffered while training over the summer break.

'I came to this team eight months ago and immediately understood the scale and ambition of this organization,' Hadjar said. 'There are so many talented people at the factory, and you're aware of the privilege of driving for such an incredible team alongside a four-time world champion like Max.

'From the moment I signed, I set out to dedicate myself to the team, and with the support of (team principal) Laurent (Mekies) and everyone in Milton Keynes, I've been able to justify the faith they've had in me.

'I'm constantly looking to listen, learn and push myself further every single day, which only makes me more excited about what lies ahead.'

Verstappen said that 'it made perfect sense' for the team to extend Hadjar.

'I think for everyone it's good,' Verstappen said. 'I get on very well with him, it's good that we have continuation and we can just focus on the races ahead.'

Liam Lawson has replaced Hadjar for the past three races, but he is returning for this week's Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Lawson will return to the Racing Bulls while Tsunoda returns to reserve duties.

Before the injury, Hadjar had reeled off seven consecutive top-six finishes, including a podium in Monaco. He's currently eighth in the drivers' standings with 71 points -- 12 ahead of Lawson and 49 behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

'I'm really looking forward to driving again,' Hadjar said. 'It's still going to be painful for a while, but it's going to be six weeks soon and it's strong enough at the moment to resist the tension. I had a test on the sim that went well. I think it's a similar environment to the cockpit -- if anything, it's nearly identical.

'If it's fine on the sim, then with the adrenaline on track, I should be OK. The training sessions have not been fun because I've been doing basically nothing with the left limb. It's been a bit boring.'

--Field Level Media