Daniel Ricciardo’s dream comeback story suddenly saw a major twist when the Australian driver ended up fracturing his wrist following a crash during the second practice session in Zandvoort. Red Bull junior Liam Lawson was brought in to replace Ricciardo for the rest of the weekend. However, now it seems like he will get another run with AlphaTauri at the Italian GP because as per The Athletic, Ricciardo will miss the race in Monza. Horner also gave fans an idea as to when Ricciardo will be back.
Following the injury, Daniel Ricciardo flew out to Barcelona immediately where he is currently under the supervision of hand and arm injury specialist Dr. Javier Mir. This was the same doctor who treated Lance Stroll at the very start of the season when the Aston Martin driver ended up fracturing both his wrists.
BREAKING: Daniel Ricciardo is out of the Dutch Grand Prix with a break in his hand after his FP2 incident, and will be will be replaced by Liam Lawson.
Get well soon Daniel!#DutchGP #F1 @danielricciardo @AlphaTauriF1 pic.twitter.com/5sz5TSkaK5
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 25, 2023
Stroll made a miraculous recovery from his injuries and was back in his car just 12 days later. Ricciardo would also want to follow in his footsteps and make a quick recovery. However, with how things stand right now, Horner believes that there is no way the honey badger can race in Italy.
Daniel Ricciardo would want to make yet another superhuman comeback
Ahead of the Dutch GP Qualifying, Christian Horner spoke to Sky Sports F1 and provided some key updates about his star driver and the injury that he sustained. As quoted by The Athletic, Horner revealed that there’s a possibility of Daniel Ricciardo undergoing a minor surgery to clean up the site of the fracture.
Horner revealed that with the current state that Ricciardo is in, any normal human would have taken 10-12 weeks to make a return back to the normal, however, Formula 1 drivers are anything but normal human beings. Therefore, for Ricciardo it’s going to be much less, but even then, Horner said that the recovery period might range from three to six weeks.
Daniel Ricciardo has flown to Barcelona to see specialist, Dr Javier Mir, the man who helped get Lance Stroll racing just 12 days after his broken wrist in preseason 🤕 pic.twitter.com/vHNr639JWq
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) August 26, 2023
However, Horner also said, “I’m sure at the back of his mind, he’s got Singapore as a target,” The Singapore GP is set to be held on 17th September, which means that Ricciardo is targeting a return to racing within three weeks. Horner also mentioned that it won’t be easy for Ricciardo because Singapore is one of the most demanding tracks of the season.
As per Horner, the thing that would be bothering Ricciardo the most at this point is that he injured himself right after making his dream return to the sport. And to rub salt into his wounds, his replacement Lawson is also in the run for Ricciardo’s much desired Red Bull seat.
A golden opportunity for Liam Lawson
If Lawson can put in a good performance and impress the Red Bull bosses, he might finally find his way into F1. The longer that Ricciardo sits out because of his injury, the more chances Lawson gets to prove himself.
📊 Liam Lawson becomes the 16th Red Bull Junior to graduate to Formula 1 ✨
Christian Klien RBR
Sebastian Vettel STR/RBR
Vitantonio Liuzzi STR/RBR
Scott Speed STR
Sebastian Buemi STR
Jaime Alguersuari STR
Brendon Hartely STR
Daniel Ricciardo STR/RBR/AT
Jean Eric Vergne STR… pic.twitter.com/02tIkYY2O7— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) August 25, 2023
It was Ricciardo himself, who denied Lawson the chance to enter F1 in the first place when the Australian was chosen ahead of the young driver from New Zealand to replace the outgoing Nyck de Vries. However, the tables have turned now.
If Daniel Ricciardo does manage to make a comeback in time for the Singapore GP, Lawson will still get two chances to prove himself. As seen before in the case with de Vries, just one chance is enough to impress the Red Bull bosses.
