F1 News: Daniel Ricciardo Confirms Austin GP Return
Finally, Daniel Ricciardo will be back on track in his AlphaTauri AT04 F1 car in Austin for the United States Grand Prix on 23 October. Saying that he is excited to be back, the Australian driver's return marks the end of reserve driver Liam Lawson's F1 run.
Ricciardo underwent surgery on his left hand after he crashed during the Dutch GP's FP2. The tires of his F1 car locked up in a bid to avoid crashing into Oscar Piastri's McLaren, thus leading him to crash against the barriers head-on.
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The ex-McLaren driver made his full-time F1 return at the Hungarian Grand Prix after replacing Nyck de Vries, who was ousted from the team for failing to score points. Ricciardo hopped onto the Red Bull camp this season and revealed that it was his dream to retire from the sport with Red Bull.
After serving reserve driver duties for the Milton Keynes outfit, the 34-year-old finally got an opportunity to race for sister team AlphaTauri. Despite being away from full-time racing for eight months, Ricciardo proved he still had the racing driver DNA in him after outqualifying teammate Yuki Tsunoda in Q2 at the Hungaroring. But in the Grand Prix, he finished outside of points.
The Belgian Grand Prix was more of a mixed bag for Ricciardo as track limits ensured he qualified P19. Nevertheless, the Sprint race saw him score points since he finished P10. But Sunday's Grand Prix saw him dropping the pace, courtesy of the tire selection.
Fortunately, he was allowed enough time for therapy. There was no rush from his team to have him back in the car since they wanted to avoid a situation that would cause him to retire again.
AlphaTauri CEO Peter Bayer said that Ricciardo had to undergo simulator training to prove that he was fit to race. The period prior to the Qatar GP saw him being nearly race-ready but, he wasn't there one hundred percent. Now though, his Austin GP return suggests he is fit to race again.
