Isack Hadjar suffered damage to his front wing during a Red Bull show run in Tokyo ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.

The event saw Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson reunited for the first time since the pair swapped seats last week.

Isack Hadjar suffers Red Bull front wing damage in Japanese GP event

The third race of the F1 2025 season promises to be an emotional occasion for Red Bull as the team contest the final Japanese Grand Prix of their highly successful partnership with engine suppliers Honda.

Honda engines have powered Max Verstappen to four consecutive Drivers’ World Championships since 2021, with Red Bull scooping consecutive Constructors’ titles in 2022/23.

As exclusively revealed by PlanetF1.com last week, Red Bull Racing have brought back their special white livery – last seen at the Turkish Grand Prix of 2021 – for the Suzuka race in a tribute to Honda.

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Verstappen and team-mate Tsunoda, who has replaced Lawson following the New Zealander’s difficult start to the F1 2025 season, will also wear one-off race suits bearing the colours of the Japanese flag.

Red Bull organised event in Tokyo on Wednesday to kickstart the buildup to the Japanese GP weekend with all four drivers – Verstappen, Tsunoda, Hadjar and Lawson – in attendance for the public demonstration of old F1 cars.

However, Hadjar had trouble navigating a tricky hairpin corner on the street course, suffering damage to a section of his front wing as he tried to power his way around the turn.

A Red Bull mechanic was forced to come to Hadjar’s rescue after the incident, offering the French-Algerian rookie some words of advice.

Another moment saw Hadjar taking a more cautious approach to the hairpin before finding himself coming close to the wall, forcing the mechanic to push his car back to give him more room.

The show run represented Tsunoda’s first public appearance as a Red Bull driver since his promotion to the senior team was confirmed last week after more than four seasons with the Racing Bulls (previously AlphaTauri) junior team.

Speaking last week, Tsunoda set a podium finish as his target for his Red Bull debut.

Addressing the crowd in Tokyo, however, the 24-year-old was more circumspect, admitting that he is aiming for a Q3 appearance and a points finishes as he adjusts to life at Red Bull.

He said: “I think it’s a situation that couldn’t be better.

“It’s not often in life that you have this kind of pressure, this kind of expectation from everyone and this kind of challenge all at the same time, so I’m really looking forward to enjoying it.

“It’s my home grand prix and I like Suzuka itself. To be honest, I think it will take a bit of time [to adapt] and I don’t think it will be that easy.

“I just want to understand the car as much as possible from FP1 and of course go for the points.

“I don’t want to talk too much about podiums, but of course I’m aiming for that in the top of my head.

“But first of all, I’m aiming for Q3 qualifying and points.

I also hope to enjoy Suzuka together with everyone, and with the colours of the machines, so please give me your support.”

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The event also saw Lawson address his Red Bull demotion for the first time, admitting that the decision came as a surprise after the first two races of the season in Australia and China.

Lawson previously dismissed Tsunoda’s credentials to replace him in Shanghai, claiming that he “beat him” in every category the pair have contested, including F1.

He said: “It was definitely a shock, honestly. It’s not something that I saw coming.

“The discussions we were having as well, I think, weren’t really leaning in this direction, so it was definitely not something that I expected.”

Asked if he was frustrated to have been denied more time at Red Bull, he replied: “Honestly, yes.

“Obviously, I would have loved more time. And I felt like with more time, especially going to places that I’d been before [I would have improved].

“It was a tough start. We had a rocky testing. We had a rocky first weekend in Melbourne with practice. And then obviously China was a sprint [weekend with limited practice time].

“I think going to places that I’d been before with the way the car was quite tricky, I think that would have helped and I would have loved that opportunity.

“But obviously, it’s not my decision so I’m here to make the most of this one.”

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