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Daniel Ricciardo's F1 comeback was short-lived as he fractured his wrist in a practice session at Zandvoort last month. The injury sidelined him for multiple race weekends, with Liam Lawson taking his seat at AlphaTauri.
Ahead of the Singapore GP this weekend, Red Bull's top boss Helmut Marko revealed that Ricciardo had suffered seven fractures during the accident. Marko also added that the Aussie driver is being treated by Xavier Mir, a well-known surgeon, who recently operated on MotoGP driver Marc Marquez.
“It’s complicated,” Marko replied to Serus TV when asked about Ricciardo's injuries.
“There are seven fractures,” he revealed. “The same doctor who operated on Marc Marquez is taking care of him. We are expecting a six-week break and have brought in a top replacement in Liam Lawson. We don’t want to take any risks.”
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With the six-week recovery period, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have already ruled out Daniel Ricciardo's return to next weekend's Japanese GP. The Red Bull team principal had earlier indicated that the Aussie driver could out of action until the Qatar Grand Prix, which is scheduled in early October.
Until Ricciardo returns, Liam Lawson is confirmed to drive alongside Yuki Tsunoda. Lawson secured a 13th-place finish in his maiden F1 start at Zandvoort and backed it up with an 11th-place finish at Monza.
While Lawson will be driving for AlphaTauri at the Singapore GP, Daniel Ricciardo has returned to the paddock but isn't available for any media or PR activities.
Daniel Ricciardo reflects on the most challenging time in his F1 career
The former Red Bull and McLaren driver has experienced the highs and lows of being an F1 driver over the last decade. Daniel Ricciardo has stood on the top step of the podium eight times in his career. But last year, he was left head scratching with a lack of results during his stint with McLaren.
Ricciardo recently reflected on his time with the Woking-based outfit, where he struggled with the MCL36 and was comprehensively beaten by his teammate Lando Norris.
“I think it was probably the last year or so, going through the struggles and the lows,” he said on the Talking Bull podcast.“You become so used to having success or just being fast and getting lots of pats on your back.
“There are always moments of head scratching, but not a whole lot, where there was a lot of head scratching in the last 12 months. I think there were times when I would for sure let it get me a bit too low. I really learnt to adjust a little bit and just try to take some learnings from those.”
Ricciardo admitted that he learned a lot during his time at McLaren rather than his successful stint at Red Bull.
“That was a challenging time for sure. But I think it also made me learn a lot,” he concluded.
Having made a return to the grid this season, Daniel Ricciardo's plans for 2024 are yet to be announced.
