JABAR EKSPRES – Red Bull Team boss Christian Horner said his third driver and AlphaTauri replacement driver, Daniel Ricciardo, has no chance of participating in the Singapore Grand Prix which will be held on September 15-17.
“I think of course (for the GP) Singapore… I don’t think there is any chance he will be ready to face it,” Horner said, quoted from the official Formula 1 website, Wednesday (9/6).
“Nevertheless, his recovery is going well. He underwent (therapy) for hand mobility and is undergoing rehabilitation now,” he added.
As for Ricciardo himself immediately underwent surgery to repair his broken hand, and the operation was recently declared successful.
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The driver who replaced Nyck De Vries for AlphaTauri had an accident at Zandvoort in the second free practice session on Friday (8/25).
Ricciardo’s injury occurred when he took action to avoid Oscar Piastri who crashed his McLaren into the barriers in the middle of the second practice.
Ricciardo, who was following from behind, was unable to save himself in time. He then chose to hit the barrier rather than the McLaren that had hit the barrier earlier. In doing so, Ricciardo was unable to remove his hands from the steering wheel before impact.
Regarding surgery, there was the placement of a metal plate and several screws to save Ricciardo’s bone position.
Horner assessed, Ricciardo’s injury recovery must be done with full focus and not rushed.
“We have seen drivers who rush to make a comeback can sometimes cause more damage (to their body) so we just want to make sure he is really fit before we put him back in the car again,” said Horner.
Due to this injury, Ricciardo was replaced by Red Bull junior Liam Lawson, who has competed in the Japan-based Super Formula series this year and finished second in the standings towards the end of the season.
