Daniel Ricciardo had his grand comeback halted by a wrist injury that forced him out of racing for 5 race weekends. Speaking on the Drew Barrymore Show about the split-second decision to crash into the wall and injure himself rather than crashing into Oscar Piastri, the Australian driver reveals how his household values led him to make that decision.
The whole incident unfurled at the second practice session at the Dutch GP, when heading into turn 3, Ricciardo spotted Piastri stranded on the side of the track. In a split-second decision, Ricciardo chose to go into the barriers himself to prevent Piastri from getting T-boned by his AlphaTauri.
The Honey Badger was asked about the same on the Drew Barrymore Show, and he replied that he indeed made the choice in an instant. Barrymore said, “Your split second decision making means that there is care and concern for other human lives first.”
Barrymore was in awe of Ricciardo’s choice to put Piastri first and sacrifice his own health. The AlphaTauri driver immediately attributed that characteristic to his parents and how he has been brought up. He said,
“That’s from Joe and Grace. I grew up in a very caring and affectionate household.”
Daniel Ricciardo took longer than expected to recover
Following the crash, it was clear that Ricciardo would have to opt for surgery and thus would have to sit out for a few races. He was set to make his comeback in Singapore, but the recovery took longer than expected.
Ricciardo was substituted by Liam Lawson at AlphaTauri and the former McLaren driver could finally get back into the car only at the United States GP in Austin. He explained, “When we got the surgery done in Spain, further checks were done and the break was a lot worse than it first seemed.”
🚨 confirmation that Daniel Ricciardo has broken his wrist following the FP2 shunt this afternoon.
as a result, Liam Lawson will be replacing him at AlphaTauri for the rest of the Dutch GP weekend. pic.twitter.com/AIYU7vwa5a
— WTF1 (@wtf1official) August 25, 2023
However, Ricciardo made a grand comeback once again as he pushed the AlphaTauri to a strong P7 at the Mexico City GP. It was only the second race following his return from the injury.
Ricciardo would want to make a good impression at the Las Vegas GP. With the teams heading into uncharted territories, it is going to be difficult for all the teams despite any kind of dominance. That’s why it might end up as a happy hunting ground for Ricciardo.
