Marc Marquez's surprise role in Isack Hadjar's Red Bull withdrawal

MotoGP is having a weekend off before returning at Aragon next weekend, and fellow Liberty Media-run series Formula 1 takes the spotlight.

The weekend began with some shock news about a driver substitution, something that’s commonplace on two wheels but not four.

Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar pulled out of the weekend and was replaced by Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, who in turn saw Yuki Tsunoda come in for him.

And as it turns out, Marquez played a key role in that chain of events.

The nine-time world champion shares a physio with Hadjar and reportedly advised him against driving through a wrist injury.

Canal Plus journalist Julien Febreau claims that Hadjar was willing to race through the pain barrier, but physio Carlos Garcia informed him not to after Marquez reached out.

There aren’t many better people to rely upon for injury advice, with Spaniard Marquez suffering a slew of injuries throughout his career but still becoming a sporting legend.

Most notably, Marquez broke his arm in the 2020 season opener in Spain and had to have a plate installed before returning for the Andalusian Grand Prix.

He ultimately didn’t race due to the amount of pain and missed the remainder of the season with a series of issues.

The plate broke shortly after, and in December he underwent a bone graft and suffered from an infection.

The 33-year-old missed the first two races of the 2021 season before making a comeback, and then in 2022 he featured in just 12 of 20 races and underwent a fourth arm surgery, sparking huge retirement fears.

Thankfully, Marquez’s arm is now fully recovered, but his experiences will certainly prove to be a lesson for Hadjar.

It wasn’t until 2024 that Marquez won his first race in three years, and 2025 when he won his ninth championship and first with Ducati.

The 2026 season has seen further issues with a painful bent shoulder screw and a broken ankle, but the Barcelona native is still staging a title fight despite missing two races.

As for Hadjar, the Frenchman is proving to be an able deputy for Max Verstappen after years of struggles for Red Bull in finding a No.2 driver.

Verstappen signed a new contract until 2030 ahead of his home Dutch Grand Prix, but Hadjar will still be wise to avoid any long-term issues if he’s ever to become Red Bull’s No.1.