Daniel Ricciardo’s Return Date Confirmed; It’s Not Qatar GP

Just when we thought life was getting better for Daniel Ricciardo, the Dutch GP struck. In fact, it struck so hard during the FP1 that it broke the Australian’s wrist, as we all know. Many speculated on his possible return, as Liam Lawson received a rare opportunity to showcase his talents on the big stage. With four races since then, we now have exact information on the Australian’s return.

Ricciardo broke his left wrist’s metacarpal in seven places in his attempt to avoid his McLaren replacement. The Australian required surgery for three complex fractures. Red Bull‘s advisor Helmut Marko first gave us information on the extent of Ricciardo’s injury and his possible return timeframe. However, the Austrian was off by a whisker. According to Marko’s 6-week return timeframe set for Ricciardo, he should’ve been available for the Qatar GP.

However, as revealed by @FastestPitStop on X, that won’t be the case. Lawson will continue to fill Ricciardo’s shoes at AlphaTauri for one more race.

Even though Ricciardo was fit and back in the simulator, the Italian team did not want to risk his return. The Australian will be fully fit and racing in Austin, but with the Qatar GP being a sprint weekend, no risks were taken. The logic behind that is if any complications come up during FP1, Lawson will be put under immense pressure and will directly go into qualifying. Not an ideal scenario! To avoid such a scenario, the Australian has another two weeks of recovery time and will make his comeback in America.

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The relaxed approach can partly be credited to Ricciardo’s contract extension for the next season as well. The contract extension and the mindset of Ricciardo, which he carried during the summer break as well.

Oozing professionalism, Daniel Ricciardo revealed how he spent his F1 summer after his return to the track

Ricciardo got a rare lease on F1 life with the AlphaTauri offer. The races before the summer break would’ve been difficult for him, as he was on a break for six months and wasn’t ready to race again so soon. In fact, with the broken hand, he’s gotten a break again. However, neither did the six-month break affect his performance as much nor will this injury.

Why? Because such is the Australian’s professionalism and approach to the sport which was evident from his plans for the summer.

When asked about his summer break plans, he revealed, “I say play catch up… In terms of from a physical standpoint, because obviously, my race fitness isn’t what all the other drivers’ is. When shutdown is on, [I’m going to] use that just to train. Of course, try and enjoy a little bit of a holiday, but I’ve had a holiday for six months!”

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A couple of extra weeks will go a long way in Ricciardo’s preparation for race fitness. Additionally, we are excited to see how he turns up in Austin.