Horner provides health update on Ricciardo and sets return expectation

Daniel Ricciardo

Horner provides health update on Ricciardo and sets return expectation

The Australian is currently en route to Barcelona for surgery

Janice Kusters

Sunday 27 August 2023 07:57

Christian Horner has provided an update on Daniel Ricciardo's health and disclosed that he is currently en route to Spain for surgery.

After the incident in Dutch Grand Prix practice where he crashed at turn three, the Australian climbed out of his car without being able to use his left hand. A subsequent X-ray confirmed that Ricciardo sustained a break to a metacarpal on his left hand, leaving him unable to drive.

Liam Lawson was chosen as his replacement for the Dutch Grand Prix, and it's anticipated that Ricciardo's absence will extend to the forthcoming Italian GP at Monza.

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The 34-year-old driver's luck couldn't have been worse. After rejoining the grid to replace Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri a mere two races before the summer break, he now finds himself forced to be a spectator once more while he recovers.

In a conversation with Sky Sports, Horner stated, “He’s headed off today to Barcelona. They may even have a little operation on him tomorrow to just tidy up where that break is. It’s quite a clean break. Then it’s all about the recuperation and how long that takes. Any normal human being would probably be about 10-12 weeks, but we know that these guys aren’t normal.”

The exceptional capability of F1 drivers to bounce back quickly becomes especially clear when considering Lance Stroll's accomplishment of earning points in Bahrain a mere two weeks after fracturing both his wrists earlier this year.

Similarly, Alex Albon's quick return to the car after surgery with complications during last year's Italian Grand Prix, where his appendix had burst, highlights their extraordinary resilience in the face of injuries.

Frustration drives Ricciardo's Singapore comeback goal

The extent of Ricciardo's dissatisfaction at missing out once again shortly after gaining momentum in the driver's seat became evident as Red Bull team principal, Horner, disclosed details from his conversation with Ricciardo last night.

Ricciardo just got his moji back, according to Horner

“I think that’s the thing he was most frustrated about, talking with him last night, was that he’d just taken a bunch of time off, just got his mojo back, getting back into it and now he’s on the bench again. That was I think his frustration,” Horner added.

Amplifying the sense of disappointment is the Australian's conviction that AlphaTauri was following the right path and making considerable progress. This optimism regarding the car's performance is the driving force behind Ricciardo's ambitious target of rejoining the action in time for the Singapore Grand Prix. As Horner explained “He felt that the car, they’ve started to make some progress, shame for him, but I’m sure that in the back of his mind, he’s probably got Singapore as a target. Then again, Singapore is probably one of the most toughest circuits on the calendar. Nature will take its course.”