Daniel Ricciardo ruled out of Dutch Grand Prix
The Australian, in only his third race back in F1, hit the wall in practice on Friday and has suffered a broken metacarpal in his left hand
Daniel Ricciardo has been ruled out of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix after breaking a metacarpal in his left hand in practice on Friday.
The Australian, who returned to Formula 1 with AlphaTauri last month, hit the barrier in second practice after compatriot Oscar Piastri collided with the wall at the same corner moments earlier. Ricciardo’s injurt was confirmed on Friday evening after an X-ray at a local hospital.
Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson, 21, will replace Ricciardo for qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday in what will be his full F1 debut.
An AlphaTauri statement read: “An X-ray confirmed he [Ricciardo] sustained a break to a metacarpal on his left hand, and this injury will not allow him to continue his duties, so he will be replaced by the team’s reserve driver Liam Lawson for the remainder of this weekend. The team wishes him all the best for the quickest possible recovery.”
Ricciardo immediately clutched his wrist after his collision with the wall and was taken to a local hospital with his hand in a sling.
The 34-year-old was only making his third appearance of the season after replacing Nyck de Vries at Red Bull’s sister team in July.
“Ah f***, my hand, f***,” Ricciardo said over the radio after the incident.
Both Piastri and Ricciardo played no further part in the running as their damaged cars were towed back to their respective garages.
Ricciardo was still holding the steering wheel as he hit the wall, and he was taken to the medical centre.
He was then pictured leaving with his left arm in a sling, and was subsequently taken to a nearby hospital for further checks on his wrist. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko confirmed on Friday night that Ricciardo had broken his wrist.
As for Lawson the 21-year-old has only appeared in three FP1 sessions before in Formula 1.
The New Zealander is currently racing in Super Formula in Japan, having finished third in Formula 2 last year.
He will fill in for Ricciardo as Yuki Tsunoda’s team-mate at Zandvoort and will only have one practice session on Saturday morning to get up to speed before qualifying in the afternoon.
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