It has been almost a month since Daniel Ricciardo suffered the bone-crushing incident at the Dutch Grand Prix, and unfortunately, the Australian is still paying for the evasive action that somehow came back to haunt his future in Formula 1. Prior to the incident, there was a clear pecking order at AlphaTauri, with the sister outfit of Red Bull wanting Ricciardo’s experience.
However, since his month-long absence, there has been a shift in focus, with Ricciardo’s replacement Liam Lawson almost effortlessly stealing the spotlight with astounding performances in his three race outings. What’s astonishing about it is that Lawson is a mere rookie with hardly any time on the simulator and F1 testing sessions.
Hence, having managed to witness a rookie getting up to speed in no time has proved to be a breath of fresh air for the entire motorsport community. In fact, Lawson has even built his own fanbase, with a majority of the fandom yearning for the New Zealander to continue racing alongside the racing elites. Subsequently, the question arose, who would race alongside Yuki Tsunoda at AlphaTauri over the Qatar Grand Prix weekend?
There were rumors making rounds that Ricciardo could finally make his much-anticipated return to Formula 1 weekend in Qatar. But, the reality?
Daniel Ricciardo to stay out of the Qatar Grand Prix?
By the looks of it, Ricciardo is still quite a long way from achieving 100% fitness. According to RacingNews365, the hand fracture is taking longer than usual to recover, leaving Ricciardo with an unpleasant feeling. Red Bull F1 boss, Christian Horner, too, acknowledged the same in an interview with Sky Sports. The Briton admitted that a return to the Qatar Grand Prix was highly unlikely for Ricciardo.
šØ As per @racingnews365, Liam Lawson will race at the Qatar Grand Prix
Ricciardo’s complicated hand fracture will require more recovery time.
[@Racingnews365] #F1 pic.twitter.com/GMmsQIKv4g
ā RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) September 27, 2023
“I would say probably less likely than likely at the moment,ā Horner toldĀ Sky Sports. “His recuperation is going well but heās fixed in the seat for next year, does he need to rush a hasty return for Qatar where maybe another couple of weeks for Austin, which is a hell of a bumpy circuit anyway, it might be better to use that time in preparation for Austin.
āI know heās got his sights fixed on Qatar, heāll drive the simulator next week and then weāll make some decisions based on that.” Overall, the consensus is that Ricciardo will only make his possible return to F1 at the United States Grand Prix. And of course, the Honey Badger would want to race in front of his favorite Texans. But, unfortunately, reality has its own script.