At the 2023 Dutch GP, Daniel Ricciardo suffered a strong impact upon crashing into the barriers, which broke his wrist. A year later, he visited the marshals who helped him that afternoon to thank them.
Ricciardo started 2023 on the sidelines but got a seat at AlphaTauri (now RB) following Nyck de Vries’ sacking. The first two races he took part in were in Hungary and Belgium, and just as he was hoping to get his mojo back, he met with his accident in The Netherlands.
It sidelined him for five races, something Ricciardo revealed was very difficult. And it also gave Red Bull junior Liam Lawson a chance to prove that he could score points in the AlphaTauri – something Ricciardo couldn’t till then.
Daniel got to thank the Zandvoort marshals that helped him last year! pic.twitter.com/vfxZ1ADsHQ
— riley³ F.E.A @ Dutch GP (@hrtricciardo) August 22, 2024
Ahead of this Sunday’s race at Zandvoort, Ricciardo sat down with the people who helped him and spoke about the traumatic experience from last year. He appreciated their efforts in helping him but also suggested that he didn’t want to do this again.
“In a very kind way, I hope I don’t see you guys again,” the Honey Badger said.
Ricciardo immediately added that he didn’t want to see them again in the “same situation” and added that he would definitely meet them again. The marshals replied by telling Ricciardo that they would be in the same stations as they were in 2023.
Ricciardo’s form post injury
Those five races Ricciardo missed could have helped him get a better finish to the 2023 season, and carry forward some good form into this campaign. Ricciardo aimed to get back to Red Bull when he joined RB. But things haven’t been going his way so far.
Although the Perth-born driver picked up pace in the latter stage of the first half this year, his start was yet woeful. It almost put him in danger of losing his RB seat as well.
However, if he performs well, there could be a future for him at Red Bull. In fact, Ricciardo was a name being considered to replace Sergio Perez before the Red Bull bosses decided to retain the Mexican at the last moment.
