Daniel Ricciardo suffered a broken metacarpal bone in a crash during practice for the Dutch Grand Prix, leading to Red Bull junior driver Liam Lawson taking his place in the AlphaTauri team for his Formula One debut.
The crash happened during the second practice session for the race at Zandvoort. Ricciardo's left hand was injured in a heavy impact with the barriers, which occurred shortly after McLaren's Oscar Piastri had crashed at the same corner. Ricciardo's distress was evident as he exclaimed, "F---, my hand, f---," over the team radio. He left the car while holding his left arm and later departed the circuit with his hand in a sling. Hospital examinations confirmed the break, as AlphaTauri announced later that day.
Ricciardo had recently returned to AlphaTauri in July after replacing Nyck de Vries. Interestingly, the crash occurred almost a year after McLaren had announced that they wouldn't continue with Ricciardo beyond 2022, leaving him without a race seat for this season.
In a twist of fate, Liam Lawson, aged 21, will get the chance to prove himself during a single practice session before the qualifying round. He had finished third in the previous year's Formula 2 championship and subsequently joined Japan's Super Formula championship this year under Red Bull's program. He will race with the number 40 at Zandvoort.
Ricciardo's injury adds complexity to the situation. He was essentially auditioning for a future with AlphaTauri, aiming for a full season with the team in the following year. Ricciardo's ultimate goal is to return to Red Bull, the team he left in 2018, and he saw his time with AlphaTauri as a means to achieve that goal.
The duration of Ricciardo's absence remains uncertain, but it appears likely that he will also miss the Italian Grand Prix at Monza next weekend. Following that, the next Formula One race will be the Singapore Grand Prix on September 17th.