Daniel Ricciardo is set to race for AlphaTauri at the United States Grand Prix, having been out of action since the end of August when he broke a bone in his left hand
Two races into his return to Formula 1, Daniel Ricciardo admitted his “frustration” at being sidelined by an injury.
After being absent for six months, the Australian returned to the grid in July, taking over at AlphaTauri for the fired Nyck de Vries. However, he crashed during Dutch Grand Prix practice at the end of August, breaking a bone in his left hand, and as a result, missed the previous five races.
This weekend, Ricciardo will be back in action at one of his preferred racetracks. After being on the race calendar for more than ten years, Austin’s Circuit of the Americas has gained tremendous popularity among fans.
And even though he had been planning to, it is the perfect place for the 34-year-old Texas-lover to get back to work.
I tried it out in the week before Qatar, but I didn’t feel it was at full potential, so I spent the rest of that week in the UK, spending more time in the sim and got to a point where I felt ready to go. My overall fitness is fine as I kept training as much as I could, although I obviously couldn’t do much with my left hand or arm for a while.
“It was frustrating to watch the last few races, especially since I had reached a point where I was eager to race again. However, after doing two events, I had to hit the pause button once more. However, the time without racing actually passed quickly.
Before getting hurt, Ricciardo played in two games without recording a point. He will be hoping to start scoring as soon as possible. Given the modifications made since he last drove the AlphaTauri AT04 on the track, that might be a little bit trickier given the development of the AT04.
“The current car has moved on a bit since I last drove it, but the sim was useful to get an idea of what
“I was there in Singapore when they tried it the first time, and it was interesting to hear the feedback and comments, which were mostly positive. So, I’m excited to see what it’s like first-hand.
”As for this weekend, I’ve always enjoyed Austin. It’s very unique for a modern-day circuit, and the undulations and bumps mean it’s physical. It does beat you up, but I think I like that. I like the challenge. A lot of the apexes are quite wide as well, so there are some peculiar corners which make the track exceptional and stand out.”