Franz Tost had already feared it on Sunday evening: “I believe that Liam Lawson will also drive in Monza, because I do not believe that Daniel Ricciardo will be fit for Monza. In any case, we are sending Lawson to the simulator so that he can prepare for Monza .”
It is now clear that the AlphaTauri team boss was right with his forecast. Until Ricciardo recovers from his injuries, the Italian team said in a statement on the X (Twitter) short message service on Monday, “we can confirm that Liam, who has done a good job in difficult circumstances at Zandvoort, will ride alongside Yuki.” .
Ricciardo broke his metacarpal during a turn 3 takeoff at Zandvoort on Friday and had to sit out the rest of the weekend. On Sunday morning he was seen in Barcelona by Dr. Xavier Mir, known as the doctor who usually patches up the MotoGP stars, operates. Successful, as the team reports.
But: “The break was more complicated than expected,” says AlphaTauri CEO Peter Bayer. “Apparently there were several bone splinters to be repaired. He’s now staying in Barcelona for a few days to be observed. Then we’ll see how the healing begins and progresses.” Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko had already feared: “It looks bad for the next two races.”
Because a broken metacarpal bone is not a trifle. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner explains: “A normal person would be unable to work for ten to twelve weeks. But these guys are not normal. Nobody can say how long it will take: three weeks, one month, six weeks? We have to wait and see .”
Singapore a realistic date for the comeback?
The Formula 1 schedule is unforgiving. After Zandvoort on August 27th and Monza on September 3rd, Singapore is on the agenda on September 17th. “I’m sure he has Singapore in mind as a destination,” says Horner. “On the other hand, Singapore is one of the most physically difficult circuits. Nature will or will not allow it.”
If Ricciardo doesn’t get fit by Singapore, it’s likely that he won’t be able to drive at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka a week later either. At the very latest, as of today, October 8th, he should be able to celebrate a comeback at the Qatar Grand Prix in Doha.
But it might be faster than everyone thinks. dr I already worked wonders on a Formula 1 driver in early 2023 when Lance Stroll broke both his wrists and a toe in a bicycle accident on February 18th and was still able to contest the season opener in Bahrain from March 3rd to 5th.
Ricciardo’s splinter fracture fixed me with several screws and a plate. The bone was broken in several places. In the end, however, the operation went without any complications. And Ricciardo can laugh again: He now has a piece of metal in his body and that is “pretty cool”, he writes on Instagram and adds: “It’s not a setback, it’s part of my comeback!”
Horner would understand if Ricciardo was secretly frustrated: “He had taken a break to find his mojo again, he came back and is now out of action again. That must be frustrating, especially since he had the feeling that the car was real to make progress.”
Lawson gets a second chance after a good debut
One’s sorrow, the other’s joy: Liam Lawson, who respectably represented Ricciardo at the Dutch Grand Prix, gets a second chance in Monza. Or given the difficult circumstances on his debut in Zandvoort: a first real chance. Because now he has at least a few days to prepare.
“His weekend was fine, he got the best out of it,” writes Ralf Schumacher in his Sky column about the 21-year-old New Zealander. “Dr. Marko has a lot of confidence in him, some people see it a little differently. Incidentally, it’s a sensation that a driver from the DTM has made it into Formula 1 again. That hasn’t happened for a long time.”
Lawson had stood up to his teammate Yuki Tsunoda in qualifying at Zandvoort until he was in the pits towards the end of Q1 of all times when the conditions were at their best. He finished 13th in the race and overtook the likes of Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) on the track under his own steam.
Lawson: Often won the first race in a new series
“Full-time” Lawson will start in 2023 in the Japanese Super Formula. There he is in second place before the season finale in Suzuka, but has the most wins of the season under his belt. He is also the official reserve driver for the two Red Bull teams in Formula 1. The Super Formula season finale will take place on October 29th, the day of the Mexican Grand Prix.
Incidentally, Lawson broke a remarkable series in Zandvoort. The New Zealander won his very first race in 2021 in Formula 2 and in the DTM as well as in 2023 in the Super Formula. However, it was foreseeable that this would not work in Formula 1 – and it would hardly have worked even with better preparation for Zandvoort …