Daniel Ricciardo has explained the moments leading up to his crash at the Dutch Grand Prix that has ruled him out of the remainder of the event because of a hand injury.
The Australian driver was running a strong P7 ten minutes into second practice and was the second quickest hard runner at that stage.
“I was very excited to be back after the break. The day was going pretty well. We made some changes for FP2 and the few laps I did on the hard tyre before the crash felt good; we were building up and improving. At that time, we were pretty competitive, and I was feeling positive.”
However, things went wrong at turn 3. Fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri crashed in the heavily banked corner as he lost the rear end on entry. Seconds later, Ricciardo arrived on the scene and crashed himself.
The Perth-born driver was taken to hospital and it was confirmed in a press release by AlphaTauri that he sustained a break to a metacarpal on his left hand.
Ricciardo stated that it was either a choice of hitting Piastri and his stricken McLaren or the wall.
“I remember coming into Turn 3. I had already gotten into the corner and then saw Piastri, so it was either hit him or the wall.
“When I hit the wall, I didn’t have enough time to take my hands off the steering wheel, so the wheel came and hit my hand. It’s really unfortunate and frustrating, but I’ll try to recover as quickly as I can.”
Photo Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
The 8-time Grand Prix winner also took the opportunity to wish Liam Lawson well with the Kiwi getting an unexpected opportunity because of Ricciardo’s injury. The Aussie confirmed he won’t rush back either.
“Obviously, I’d love to get back soon, but I also want to ensure we do things the right way, so I come back strong and competitive.
“I wish the team well, and I’m sorry for the change in plans again. It’s a chance for Liam to have a go, and I wish him and the team a strong weekend.”
