Ricciardo breaks wrist in practice crash, won't drive in Dutch GP
Updated August 26, 2023 — 7.27am
Comeback driver Daniel Ricciardo is out of the Dutch Grand Prix after suffering a broken wrist in practice when both he and fellow Australian Oscar Piastri crashed on the same turn.
AlphaTauri’s Ricciardo, in just his third grand prix since earning a drive with the Red Bull-backed outfit, fractured his left hand when he drove into a tyre wall at Zandvoort on Friday in an attempt to avoid running headlong into Piastri’s stricken McLaren after the rookie had just crashed moments earlier.
The incident left Piastri reflecting that Ricciardo’s actions may have prevented an even more serious incident.
“If you’re coming into that corner, it’s blind, so maybe he saw me too late and turned to the wall instead of into me. So if he did, thank you,” the Melbourne rookie said.
The two Aussies were thankfully able to clamber out of their cars after their accidents but the 34-year-old Ricciardo had difficulty extricating himself because his hand had still been on the steering wheel as he hit the wall.
He had to be treated in hospital before his team reported: “An X-ray confirmed he 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.”
Daniel Ricciardo broke his wrist in a crash during a practice session for the Dutch Grand Prix.Credit: Getty
It marks a big opportunity for New Zealander Lawson, a 21-year-old from Hastings who will be making his Formula 1 debut.
Piastri, who has replaced Ricciardo at the British team this season, had lost control on the famed banked turn three after just 10 minutes of the second practice, his car spinning into the barriers.
Ricciardo had been powering around on the same line and, despite a warning yellow flag, then also swerved into the wall, hitting the brakes after seemingly only glimpsing the McLaren late.
With the session red-flagged, Ricciardo was left cursing twice as he radioed in to his team, complaining of his hand injury.
Ricciardo immediately nurses his injury as he walks from his Scuderia AlphaTauricar after the crash on Dutch track.Credit: Getty
Both of their cars had to be hauled off the circuit by cranes, with Piastri apologising to his team as he explained the car was too damaged for him to return to the pits.
The 22-year-old Piastri, who had been a test driver at Alpine last year, has impressed as Australia’s newest F1 star, having agreed to take Ricciardo’s seat at McLaren in controversial circumstances last season in a move which outraged the French team.
But the experienced Ricciardo has enjoyed an impressive two-race comeback with the Red Bull “second team”, AlphaTauri.
The session resumed 15 minutes after the crash, with Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris going on to finish fastest – even more of a frustration for the Australian, who had been hoping for an impressive start to the resumption of McLaren’s ever-improving season after the summer break.
Daniel Ricciardo’s AlphaTauri is removed from the track after the crash in the practice session at the Dutch Grand Prix.Credit: Reuters
“I just went in a little bit hot, tried to turn in a bit aggressively and unfortunately found the wall,” said Piastri.
“I guess it (his first significant F1 crash) was gonna happen at some stage. Of course, you never want it to, but I was just pushing a little bit too hard and, around here, especially in that corner, you pay a big consequence.”
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Norris was fractionally ahead of home favourite and runaway championship leader Max Verstappen, who had topped the morning timesheets and looks in fine shape to take a ninth win in a row on Sunday in front of his adoring home fans to equal now-retired Sebastian Vettel’s decade-old record of consecutive victories.
Norris clocked 1 minute 11.330 seconds around the 4.259-kilometre circuit to narrowly beat champion Verstappen by 0.023.
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