Ricciardo gives NEW update on hand injury as BIG F1 rival lends support

Daniel Ricciardo has provided an update on the injury that has kept him out of the last couple of grands prix, stating that his injury status is 'relatively unchanged.'

The AlphaTauri driver suffered a broken bone in his left hand during FP2 at the Dutch Grand Prix, when he crashed into the barriers trying to avoid McLaren's Oscar Piastri who had also crashed.

He has since missed the last two races, with young Red Bull driver Liam Lawson taking over in the AlphaTauri and largely impressing so far, especially considering just six days before he was taking part in qualifying at Zandvoort, he was racing in Super Fomula.

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This came after Ricciardo had already replaced Nyck de Vries at the team, who had struggled during his first season in Formula 1. It means that Yuki Tsunoda in the other AlphaTauri has now had three team-mates in 2023 in what has been a turbulent season for the team.

The Australian took to Instagram to provide his fans with the update, with a picture of a nasty looking scar from his operation, which was a success.

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A post shared by Daniel Ricciardo (@danielricciardo)

Former team-mate Lando Norris commented his support for his friend on the post, with a love heart emoji.

Unfortunate Ricciardo

The injury came at a really unfortunate time for Ricciardo, who was attempting to impress the team in the hopes of gaining a full-time seat in the sport next season.

He was left without a seat in 2023 having been dropped by McLaren at the end of last season, and has been a reserve driver for Red Bull for much of 2023. When this opportunity came up however, following De Vries' poor form, Ricciardo saw it as an immediate opportunity to get back onto the grid.

That opportunity only lasted two races before this injury meant that Lawson took over the reigns. He is now talking himself into a seat for 2024 with some impressive driving, and Ricciardo will need to come back soon and hit the ground running if he wants a contract next year.

In his Instagram post, Ricciardo can also be seen miming to Olivia Rodrigo's song 'Drivers license'.

This could be a subtle clue that he is beginning to pick up some driving, either in a simulator or on roads in order to build up some strength in his injured hand, with the timing of his post coinciding with her new album 'Guts' dropping earlier on Friday.

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