F1 Today | Hadjar provides injury update as brutal Monza conditions looming

Isack Hadjar is continuing his recovery from the wrist injury that forced him to miss the Dutch Grand Prix, with the Frenchman now targeting a return to the cockpit at Monza next weekend. Having never previously suffered an injury during his career, Hadjar admitted that watching from the sidelines has been an unfamiliar and frustrating experience, particularly because of his desire to contribute to the team throughout the weekend.

However, the latest signs appear encouraging, with the Red Bull driver revealing that the swelling has already disappeared and that the mobility in his wrist is improving on a daily basis. The rapid progress has left Hadjar hopeful that he will be fit enough to compete in the Italian Grand Prix.

Red Bull are nevertheless keeping Liam Lawson available should Hadjar fail to recover in time. GPblog recently reported that the New Zealander will remain with the team during the build-up to the Monza weekend, ensuring he can step in once again alongside Max Verstappen if required.

Lawson was drafted in at short notice for Zandvoort following Hadjar's injury, but remaining closely involved with the team ahead of the Italian Grand Prix would leave him considerably better prepared for another appearance in the RB22. For now, however, the focus remains on Hadjar's recovery, with his improving condition providing encouraging signs ahead of next week's race.

Former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher suffered a painful injury while competing in Stefan Raab's Jetski Star WM in Duisburg. Schumacher was driving the jet ski with Raab as his passenger during the Team Challenge when the pair ended up in the water. After the jet ski overturned, Schumacher felt pain while attempting to turn it upright before his right shoulder fully dislocated as he tried to pull himself out of the water and climb back aboard. His shoulder was put back into place at the scene before he underwent further examinations at BG Klinikum Duisburg.

Those examinations revealed that the injury was more serious than initially thought, with a piece of bone also having broken off. Schumacher is therefore set to undergo surgery on Monday, although the setback is not expected to keep him away from next weekend's Italian Grand Prix. The former F1 driver, who now works as a pundit for Sky Germany, expects to travel to Monza and fulfil his usual television duties despite the operation, joking that he will simply have to hold the microphone with his left hand.

Formula 1 could face one of the hottest weekends of the season when the championship arrives at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix. After a run of races affected by cooler temperatures and, on some occasions, rain, conditions are expected to change dramatically for the first leg of the Italy-Madrid double-header. The Monza weekend, scheduled for 4-6 September, could provide a particularly demanding challenge for both drivers and teams, with temperatures forecast to climb well above 30 degrees Celsius throughout the event.

The heat is expected to be present from the very start of track action, with temperatures of around 33 degrees Celsius forecast for Friday's two practice sessions and track temperatures likely to rise considerably higher. Rain appears highly unlikely, with Weather.com putting the chance of precipitation at just 2%, while wind speeds are expected to remain low, with gusts reaching no more than 8 km/h despite a change in direction across the weekend.

Conditions could become even hotter on Saturday, when temperatures are forecast to reach 34 degrees Celsius during qualifying. Such levels have only previously been experienced this season during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, underlining the potentially extreme conditions awaiting the grid at Monza. There will be little respite from the heat on race day, with similarly demanding conditions expected to remain in place for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix. Temperatures are once again forecast to reach 34 degrees Celsius on September 6, meaning drivers and teams could face another particularly challenging afternoon at Monza.