Monza [Italy], September 4 : As Daniel Ricciardo recovers from his fractured hand, Team Principal of Red Bull Racing Christian Horner does not believe there is "any chance" that the star driver will compete in the Singapore Grand Prix with doubts also cast over his fitness for a comeback at the following round in Japan.
Ricciardo, who was hired in mid-season to take Nyck de Vries' place at AlphaTauri, broke his metacarpal following a Friday practice crash in the Netherlands. He underwent surgery to fix the bone, which entailed inserting a metal plate and some screws.
Red Bull youngster Liam Lawson, who is now second in the standings heading into the season finale of the Japan-based Super Formula series, took his position for the Zandvoort and Monza weekends.
Following Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, when Ricciardo was questioned about his rehabilitation schedule and remarks attributed to Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko that the Australian is questionable for both Singapore (September 15–17) and Japan (September 22–24), Horner provided a new update.
“I think certainly Singapore… I don’t think there’s any chance he’ll be ready for then. It would be optimistic for Japan, but his recovery is going well. He’s got mobility of the hand and is in rehabilitation now," the Red Bull team boss was quoted as saying by Formula 1.
“We’ve seen with motorcyclists rushing comebacks they can sometimes do more damage, so we just want to make sure he’s fully fit before we get [him] back in the car," he added.
Stand-in Lawson will remain until Ricciardo is healthy enough to return, according to AlphaTauri. The 21-year-old New Zealander built on a promising start to his Formula One career with a run to P11 at Monza on a wet and crazy Zandvoort weekend.
“I think he did a solid job. I haven’t followed his race that closely. They did a two-stop, which is unconventional on strategy, so I’ll have to look at the analysis after the race. He’s acquitted himself very well. “I should think he’s pretty keen to be in the car in Suzuka [given his Super Formula experience there]. We’ll just take it on a day-by-day basis and see how the recovery and nature takes its course," Horner said of Lawson’s efforts.
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