Liam Lawson is set for a surprise return to Red Bull Racing at the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix this weekend, stepping in after Isack Hadjar picked up a wrist injury during the summer break. The 21-year-old Hadjar was training when he sustained the damage and is still awaiting full medical clearance. It's a golden opportunity for Lawson, who was dropped back to Racing Bulls earlier this year after just two races alongside Max Verstappen, replaced by Yuki Tsunoda at the senior team.

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What makes this reshuffle interesting is how it plays out across Red Bull's two teams. Tsunoda, who acts as reserve driver for both Red Bull and Racing Bulls, will slide down to the junior squad for the Dutch GP while Lawson gets promoted for the one-off race. The New Zealand Herald reports that Racing Bulls have confirmed this arrangement, giving Lawson another crack at proving himself in a top car, even if it's only for a Sprint weekend at Zandvoort.

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Here's where things get spicy though. McLaren CEO Zak Brown is not going to be happy about this. He's been vocal all season about Red Bull's ownership of Racing Bulls creating an unfair advantage, with the junior team routinely playing ball to benefit the main squad. Brown's already lodged complaints with the FIA about incidents like Daniel Ricciardo taking fastest lap at Singapore last year to deny Lando Norris points during his title fight, and earlier this year when Lawson yielded position to Verstappen at Miami despite the Dutchman forcing him off track.

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Now Red Bull are essentially plucking Lawson out of the junior team to fill a seat at the main event, which Brown will argue is exactly the kind of manipulation that needs policing. The McLaren boss has repeatedly called for Red Bull to be forced into selling Racing Bulls to level the playing field. With the Dutch GP being Zandvoort's final appearance on the calendar after this year, this latest maneuver will only strengthen Brown's argument that the FIA needs to clamp down on how Red Bull operates its two-team structure.

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