Daniel Ricciardo has been dominated out of Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix after he suffered a damaged wrist in Zandvoort.
Ricciardo, who was due to participate in solely his third comeback race, crashed out of form on Friday and was in apparent ache when he emerged from his AlphaTauri cockpit.
The 34-year-old Australian was instantly taken to the medical centre earlier than he was transported to a close-by hospital along with his left arm in a sling.
A subsequent X-ray confirmed Ricciardo had sustained a break to the metacarpal on his left hand.
He will probably be changed by Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson, 21, with the New Zealander to make his Formula One debut.
An announcement from Ricciardo’s AlphaTauri crew learn: “After today’s incident during Free Practice 2 in Zandvoort, in which Daniel Ricciardo hit the barrier at Turn 3, he was brought to the local hospital and further examinations were carried out.
“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. The team wishes him all the best for the quickest possible recovery.”
The flashpoint occurred simply 10 minutes into the second operating when Oscar Piastri and Ricciardo crashed at comparatively low velocity inside moments of one another on the identical nook.
Australian Piastri, who has loved a powerful rookie marketing campaign, misplaced management of his McLaren by way of the banked left-handed Turn 3 earlier than slamming into the limitations.
Moments later, Ricciardo, who appeared distracted by the sight of Piastri’s wounded machine, locked up below braking earlier than following his compatriot into the tyre wall. He was nonetheless holding the steering wheel when he made affect with the Armco.
“Ah f***, my hand, f***,” he mentioned over the radio.
Following Ricciardo’s dismissal by McLaren on the finish of final season, and his profession in obvious tatters, Ricciardo was handed a second likelihood by AlphaTauri, racing in Hungary and Belgium earlier than the game’s summer time break.
Ricciardo, an eight-time grand prix winner, was hopeful of utilizing the concluding 10 rounds to show he was worthy of a promotion again to Red Bull instead of Sergio Perez.
But his plans now cling within the steadiness. The races come thick and quick, with the Italian Grand Prix to observe subsequent weekend, and it’s unclear at this stage when Ricciardo will be capable of return to the cockpit.
When the motion resumed after Ricciardo’s crash, Lando Norris denied Max Verstappen a observe double by setting the tempo.
More than 300,000 spectators will descend on the coastal city of Zandvoort, 30 miles outdoors of Amsterdam, as the game emerges from its summer time slumber.
The majority of whom will achieve this within the expectation of watching Verstappen march to his ninth consecutive victory – equalling a file set by Sebastian Vettel for Red Bull in 2013 – as he closes in on a hat-trick of world championships.
But McLaren’s Norris raised the suggestion he might spoil Verstappen’s homecoming celebration after he ended the day with the quickest time.
While observe velocity is handled with warning, the British driver edged out Verstappen, who was quickest within the first operating, by simply 0.023 seconds. The spectacular Alex Albon completed third for Williams, one place forward of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
The seven-time world champion completed three tenths adrift in his Mercedes with team-mate George Russell solely 14th within the order.
Ricciardo’s team-mate, Yuki Tsunoda, completed fifth with Pierre Gasly sixth and Sergio Perez, 125 factors behind Verstappen within the drivers’ championship, seventh.