Daniel Ricciardo ruled out of Dutch Grand Prix after practice crash

AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo will miss the rest of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend after suffering a broken wrist in a practice crash at Zandvoort.

The Australian racer was heard complaining about his hand over team radio after hitting the barrier at Turn 3, with replays showing Ricciardo’s hand on the steering wheel at the moment of impact.

The crash came in an unusual incident just 10 minutes into the session in which Ricciardo came across the stationary McLaren of Oscar Piastri, who had moments earlier lost control and hit the barrier himself.

Additional reporting by Sam Cooper

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With drivers traditionally taking a high line at the heavily banked Turn 3, Ricciardo indicated over team radio that he was caught by surprise by the presence of Piastri’s car before hitting the barrier.

Ricciardo’s crash came after he had been classified 13th in the opening practice session at Zandvoort on Friday.

PlanetF1.com’s Sam Cooper, in attendance at the Dutch Grand Prix, soon spotted Liam Lawson – Red Bull and AlphaTauri’s official reserve driver – entering the AlphaTauri garage as the second practice session concluded.

It has since emerged that Lawson will make his grand prix debut this weekend with Ricciardo ruled out through injury.

Lawson had been widely regarded as the next Red Bull F1 star and the 21-year-old had spent the first half of 2023 competing in the Super Formula category in Japan, but will now become the first New Zealander to race in F1 since Brendon Hartley, also for AlphaTauri (then Toro Rosso) in 2018.

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko admitted shortly before the announcement that a replacement for Ricciardo could be needed, but wouldn’t reveal who might get the call-up.

“We don’t know exactly what it is yet, but he was in a lot of pain,” he told Viaplay. “His wrist has suffered damage, but we have to wait for a diagnosis. He’s in the hospital.

“This is a new situation for us. We first wait to see how Ricciardo is doing and whether he can drive or not. Then we discuss it.”

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Having started this year as Red Bull’s reserve driver, Ricciardo made a sensational return to a race seat with AlphaTauri in place of Nyck de Vries ahead of last month’s Hungarian GP, where he outqualified and outraced new team-mate Yuki Tsunoda at the first time of asking.

Tsunoda hit back at the following round in Belgium, where he registered the team’s third points finish of the season with a 10th-placed finish as Ricciardo trailed home 16th.

Winner of eight grands prix in total, Ricciardo has become one of the most popular driver of the modern era since arriving on the grid with the now-defunct HRT team in 2011 and spent five seasons with 2022 Constructors’ Champions Red Bull between 2014 and 2018.

Next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza will mark two years since his last F1 victory for McLaren.

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