Sport | Miracle men? ‘Complicated’ fracture means Ricciardo out for at least two races

• Daniel Ricciardo has had a successful operation on his hand after breaking it during the Dutch Grand Prix.
• Given the complicated fracture, Ricciardo is expected to be out for several races.
• The same doctor who operated on Lance Stroll’s wrists at the start of the season performed surgery on Ricciardo.
• For more sports news, go to the News24 Sport front page.

Daniel Ricciardo’s much-anticipated comeback to Formula 1 has taken an unexpected turn at the recent Dutch Grand Prix.

During the second practice session on Friday, the Australian lost control of his AlphaTauri, careening into the wall.

Moreover, just moments before, countryman Oscar Piastri put his McLaren into the same wall, and Ricciardo had a choice to make in the fleeting moments: hit Piastri or hit 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,” the 34-year-old said.

“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.”

Ricciardo, with a broken left hand, was withdrawn from the weekend’s race and replaced at AlphaTauri by Red Bull’s other reserve driver, Liam Lawson.

It’s not looking good

After the incident, Ricciardo was flown out to Barcelona, Spain, with surgery following on Sunday morning – the day of the race. Though it was successful, the break was not clean, and the complicated nature of it means that the Aussie will miss at least the next two races.

Given the quick recovery time for athletes, especially F1 drivers, Ricciardo and AlphaTauri aimed for a comeback at the Singapore Grand Prix (15-17 September). However, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, has put this into doubt.

READ | A broken hand and a return to the podium: 3 things we learned from the Dutch GP

“Unfortunately, the fracture is complicated. It’s not a straightforward break,” Marko said.

“In all likelihood, [he] will also miss the next two races in Italy and Singapore. We will await confirmation from the doctor, but the outlook for the next two races is bleak.”

Formula 1 heads to Italy for this weekend’s Grand Prix around the Monza: the Cathedral of Speed.

Second break in 2023

Two weeks before the start of the 2023 F1 season, Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll broke both his wrists when he fell off his bicycle. The Canadian was in doubt for the season-opening race in Bahrain but made a miraculous recovery.

Expectedly, it wasn’t easy competing in the race, with the driver saying in the post-race interview that all he felt was pain.

“Pain, [I was] in pain,” he said.

“But I was grinding it out at the end just thinking about picking up those points; it [felt] good. It’s just been an insane journey. [Those] two weeks have just been the most insane two weeks of my life.”

Stroll finished sixth in the Bahrain GP.

Dr Xavier Mir, who performed surgery on Stroll, also took charge of Ricciardo’s procedure.

Stroll’s praise of Mir should put Ricciardo and his fans at ease.

“I had an incredible medical team that helped me along the way, [including] the surgeon in Spain, Dr Mir, who without him I wouldn’t be here, [and] it would be impossible to be driving.”