Marc Marquez has opened up about the advice he gave to Red Bull Formula 1 driver Isack Hadjar following the youngster’s wrist injury.
Hadjar sustained the injury while working out in a gym in the week leading up to the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
Despite being keen to race, the 21-year-old ultimately sat out the event after consulting with team principal Laurent Mekies and reigning MotoGP world champion Marquez.
Marquez confirmed that Hadjar had reached out to him directly, seeking guidance on how to handle his recovery ahead of the race weekend.
Drawing on his own painful experience, the factory Ducati rider urged Hadjar not to rush back into competition, warning him about the serious long-term consequences of doing so.
“Hadjar contacted me,” Marquez told MotoGP.com. “I’m not a doctor, of course, but just for advice.”
Marquez acknowledged how mentally difficult it can be for a racer to accept missing a round, even when their body is telling them otherwise.
“Because sometimes for a rider, or a driver in this case, it’s super difficult because sometimes you feel that OK, maybe you can. But it’s difficult to accept that, ‘OK, I will skip this race and I will prepare myself in a better way for the next one’,” he said.
The Spaniard was emphatic about what he learned from his own devastating injury, making clear that impatience can have life-altering consequences for any motorsport competitor.
“I learned in the past that missing one race will not change your life. Worsening your injury because you ride too early, can change your life,” Marquez said.
Marquez’s own MotoGP career was severely disrupted when he fractured a bone in his arm following a highside at the 2020 season opener in Jerez.
He returned just days later for the Andalucian GP, but the additional strain weakened the plate attached to his arm, forcing him to withdraw and miss the entire remainder of that season.
It took a fourth operation in 2022 before Marquez was able to recover much of the mobility he had lost, illustrating just how damaging the premature return had been.
“My life changed a lot since the Jerez injury. So yeah, I just tried to give that advice to Hadjar, and I think he took the correct decision because he has a long career in front [of him],” Marquez added.
Hadjar’s absence from Zandvoort triggered a driver reshuffle, with Liam Lawson stepping up from Racing Bulls to race for Red Bull, while Yuki Tsunoda filled in at the sister team.
With the Italian Grand Prix at Monza scheduled for the 4th to 6th of September, it remains unclear whether Hadjar will be fit in time to reclaim his seat.