AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost has delivered an update on the condition of Daniel Ricciardo, who underwent surgery in Barcelona having fractured a metacarpal in his hand following a crash at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Ricciardo fractured his metacarpal after crashing at Turn 3 during the opening stages of Free Practice 2 at Zandvoort, something which was entirely not his fault.
As Ricciardo entered the corner, he was unable to see that fellow Australian Oscar Piastri had crashed on the racing line, leaving Ricciardo with a sudden choice to make.
It was inevitable that the AlphaTauri driver was going to crash given the circumstances; however, he had to decide whether to crash directly into Piastri or to put his own car in the wall.
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Ricciardo went for the latter but didn’t have the time to take his hand off the steering wheel, as there is no run-off on the outside of the banked corner.
The 34-year-old was seen holding his hand the moment he got out of the car, before being sent to hospital for a scan, where his broken metacarpal was discovered.
Unfortunately for the fan favourite, the fracture turned out to be complicated, with him having flown to Barcelona to visit the same doctor who operated on Lance Stroll during pre-season.
Ricciardo underwent a successful surgery but remains in the Spanish city, where he is currently undergoing therapy.
Supposedly, Ricciardo is eager to return at the Singapore Grand Prix in two weeks’ time; however, based on an update from Tost, this looks very unlikely.
The AlphaTauri boss admitted that Ricciardo is likely going to be out of action for “two to three weeks”, theoretically ruling him out of the races in Singapore and Japan.
“He [Ricciardo] is doing alright according to the circumstances. I called him, he is still in Barcelona but is already getting physical therapy treatments there,” Tost told Sky Germany.
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“We now have to see how fast the healing process is, we can’t say anything in advance, we need a few more days to get a good view on the process.
“I hope it’s only a matter of weeks, hopefully not too many but we are for sure not going to see him in the car in the next two to three weeks. But we will see.”
Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson took Ricciardo’s place in Zandvoort and is doing so again this weekend at the Italian Grand Prix, with it having been confirmed that the New Zealander will continue to replace the eight-time race winner until he’s fully fit to return.