During FP2 before the Dutch Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo suffered an injury to his wrist which will see him out of the Grand Prix this weekend. The team has called up their reserve driver Liam Lawson to fill the shoes of the Aussie.
During the second practice session of the Dutch Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri lost control of the car and ran it into the wall in turn 3. Daniel Ricciardo who was a few seconds behind the McLaren was caught off guard by the car in the middle of the track. not able to react to it, he also lost control and hit the wall. While Piastri was unharmed, the other Australian driver was taken to the hospital for further scans.
We hope you’re okay, Daniel ❤️#DutchGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/qg2TgbfAVy
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 25, 2023
The X-ray revealed that he had broken his wrist. Hence the team called Liam Lawson to replace Ricciardo while he recovers from the injury. Liam Lawson has been driving in Super Formula in Japan. He is also doing well in his career. There is speculation that he would step in to replace any of the Red Bull and AlphaTauri drivers if they do not perform up to mark.
the team will not have too much expectations for Lawson for this race. He will only have 1 hour in the car before the qualifying session. As long as he can complete a clean race, the team should be happy.
When will Daniel Ricciardo return to AlphaTauri?
A broken wrist is not a simple injury to recover from. Especially for a Formula 1 driver. Unlike the usual road cars, Formula 1 cars do not have power steering. So the drivers put a lot of pressure on their hands to control the car. A wrist injury could make it very difficult for Ricciardo to drive the AlphaTauri.
An injury like this could take weeks to recover from. While he is ruled out for the Dutch Grand Prix, it is possible that he will be ruled out from the Italian Grand Prix next weekend as well. The Grand Prix after that will be in Singapore. The Singapore street circuit is a very physically demanding track. It may not be the ideal track for Daniel Ricciardo’s return to racing.
🚨 | AlphaTauri confirms Daniel Ricciardo has broken a metacarpal.
Italian GP is next week, and this type of injury could take few weeks to heal…
Hopefully Danny isn’t out for too long.
— formularacers (@formularacers_) August 25, 2023
The 8-time Grand Prix winner had come back to the Formula 1 grid by replacing Nyck de Vries in AlphaTauri. He did not expect to be on the grid this year after deciding to take a break after a poor couple of seasons with McLaren. This return has given him the platform to prove himself once again.
Unfortunately, the injury has put a few spanners in the works for Ricciardo. He has only driven in 2 races since his return. This injury could be a problem if he wishes to compete for the Red Bull seat in 2025.
Let us wait and see when Daniel could return to racing. If he is able to come back in time for the Singapore Grand Prix, it could be challenging for him. We should get some more news on this in the coming days.
