GRAPHIC CONTENT: Daniel Ricciardo reveals the brutal extent of his hand injury after crash during Dutch Grand Prix free practice
- Still not behind the wheel
- He will miss the Singapore Grand Prix
- Surgery will leave a large scar
Australian F1 AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo recently suffered a serious hand injury when he crashed during free practice at the Dutch Grand Prix and now he has revealed the gory details.
Fresh out of surgery, Ricciardo had previously shown off his injured hand in a plaster cast, but now the full extent of the damage from the crash is visible.
Only scroll further when you’re ready to see the full graphic.
The Australian driver entered the Tarzan corner on the Zandvoort circuit during training for the Dutch GP when he drove just wide.
Because McLaren driver Oscar Piastri was already stuck in the barrier after his own crash, Ricciardo had nowhere to go but into the wall himself.
This is just part of the comeback Ricciardo claims after undergoing surgery on his broken hand
The Australian knew his hand was bad when he climbed out of the wreckage and clutched his injured wing
Discussing the severity of Ricciardo’s problems, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said after the operation: ‘He is on his way to Barcelona. They may even do a little surgery on him tomorrow to clean up where that break is, it’s quite a clean break.
‘Then it is of course about the recovery and how long it takes. Any normal person would be 10-12 weeks old, but we know these boys are not normal.
‘So it’s going to be all about the recovery process – is that going to take three weeks? Will it be a month? Is it six weeks? No one really knows.’
It is almost certain that Ricciardo will miss the upcoming race in Singapore.
The circuit is considered by many drivers to be the most physically demanding of the season thanks to its twisty nature and extreme heat, so this would be a tough race to return to.
In the meantime, Liam Lawson will replace Ricciardo for AlphaTauri.
Ricciardo shows the aftermath of an operation in which he received 13 stitches
Young Liam Lawson from New Zealand takes the place of the injured Australian in the AlphaTauri car
The Australian had only just returned to F1 after starting the season without a seat.
After AlphaTauri dropped Nyck De Vries, Ricciardo joined AlphaTauri and drove in the Hungarian and British Grand Prix.
Despite being desperate to return to secure a place in a team next season, it is clear Ricciardo is not taking any chances with his recovery.
The Australian does not plan to return to the cockpit until he is fully fit and remains optimistic about a full recovery.
‘Thank you to everyone who reached out and gave me the courage. This is not a setback, it’s all part of the comeback,” he wrote.
“I’m relatively unchanged.”
Ricciardo also showed he hasn’t lost his sense of humor by posting a video to his Insta page of his rehabilitation on an exercise bike, singing along to Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Drivers License’.