In mid-July, on the sidelines of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo had regained regular status in Formula 1. Without a steering wheel since the end of the 2022 financial year, the ex-McLaren driver had been asked to take the place. de Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri, being loaned by the parent company Red Bull, where he had become the reserve driver.
That said, the Australian will only have had the opportunity to play two full rounds, in Hungary and Belgium. Coming back from the summer break, as part of the Dutch Grand Prix, going off the track in free practice caused him an injury to his left hand, precipitating his withdrawal for the rest of the weekend.
Early October in Qatar?
Height of the replacement replaced, Daniel Ricciardo was forced to begin a period of convalescence by yielding in turn his seat to Liam Lawson. Protected by Red Bull, the 21-year-old New Zealander made a good impression at Zandvoort and then Monza, managing to compete with his team partner Yuki Tsunoda, whose experience in F1 is however superior.
With a convincing 11th place at the end of the Italian Grand Prix, Liam Lawson will continue to evolve at the wheel of the AlphaTauri in Singapore (September 17) and probably during the following event in Japan (September 24) . Indeed, Daniel Ricciardo’s return to competition should only be effective in Qatar (October 8), according to Christian Horner, the boss of the Red Bull team.
Christian Horner’s statement:
“For Singapore, I don’t think there’s any chance he’ll be ready by then. That would be optimistic for Japan, but his recovery is going well. He has regained mobility in his hand and is currently undergoing rehabilitation. With MotoGP riders we have seen that some hasty returns can sometimes cause more damage, so we just want to make sure it will be fully operational when it comes time to get back behind the wheel.”
Daniel Ricciardo is not likely to return by Singapore and Japan
Asked by @SMitchellF1 about updates on Daniel, Horner replied that it’s not looking good for Singapore and Japan, they are also not to keen to rush things. Liam will stay as a substitute for the time being#F1 pic.twitter.com/5ALrX5t08M
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) September 3, 2023
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To sum up
Treating an injury to his left hand, Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri) did not take part in the last two races to date, at Zandvoort then Monza. Christian Horner, the boss of Red Bull, assesses the deadline for the Australian’s return to competition.
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