Daniel Ricciardo has undergone a successful surgery on his left hand after breaking a metacarpal during FP2 for the Dutch Grand Prix earlier this weekend.
Ricciardo crashed when avoiding the stationary McLaren of Oscar Piastri who had also crashed at Turn 3 just moments prior.
The AlphaTauri driver had been transported to a local hospital for X-Rays which confirmed a break of a metacarpal in his left hand. It was revealed on Saturday that he had travelled to Barcelona to undergo surgery from Xavier Mir – the MotoGP paddock’s go-to doctor for arm injuries.
Mir also operated on Lance Stroll following his bicycle accident that ruled him out of pre-season testing. Stroll returned in time for the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix just one week later.
Christian Horner offered an update on Ricciardo’s condition saying: “He had an operation earlier today. He’s had several screws and a plate fitted to his [metacarpal]. It went well, it was successful.
“The bone was broken in multiple places, but it was a fairly straightforward procedure.
In a post shared on Instagram, Ricciardo commented: “Had surgery this morning, got my first bit of metal work so that’s pretty cool.
“Big thanks to everyone who reached out and kept my spirits up. This ain’t a setback, just all part of the comeback.”
Ricciardo’s injury means that he was forced to sit out the Dutch Grand Prix, with Red Bull reserve Liam Lawson stepping in.
The Australian will miss next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, however Christian Horner was unable to set a timeline for Ricciardo’s return. Horner emphasised that that decision can only be judged by the speed of the AlphaTauri driver’s recovery.
AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost has confirmed that Liam Lawson will again deputise for Ricciardo at Monza.
“For me, it looks like Liam will do Monza because I don’t think that Daniel will be ready to race in Monza,” Tost told Motorsport.com.
“”We will send [Lawson] to the sim this week to be prepared for Monza.”
Lawson recovered from 19th on the grid to 13th in a challenging debut given the treacherous and unpredictable weather conditions.
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