Daniel Ricciardo’s comeback, United States Grand Prix, Austin, Texas, injuries, Liam Lawson’s debut, AlphaTauri

Daniel Ricciardo is set to return to the Formula 1 grid at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix after almost two months recovering from his broken hand.

Ricciardo has been sidelined since the Dutch Grand Prix in August when a crash during testing fractured the fifth metacarpal bone in his left hand in seven places.

He underwent surgery that week and has since recovered, with New Zealander Liam Lawson taking his place at the next five grands prix.

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Ricciardo, an eight-time race winner, had tentatively chosen the Qatar Grand Prix as his comeback race, but a simulator session the previous week revealed his hand had not yet fully healed.

With a 2024 AlphaTauri contract already signed, there is no rush for Ricciardo to return prematurely, delaying his return by a further fortnight.

But a subsequent simulator session and preparation for a Red Bull demonstration event in Nashville this weekend was enough to give the West Australian the green light to compete this weekend in Texas.

“Small update: the simulator works well, the hand feels good to drive,” Ricciardo said in a video on Red Bull Racing’s social media. “Austin – everyone knows I love Austin. I wouldn’t miss this one for anything.

“See you soon in Austin. »

The United States Grand Prix is ​​the first of a triple edition in the Americas, with the sport moving from Austin to Mexico City to São Paulo in three consecutive weeks before a weekend off. The season then ends with a double meeting in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi.

Ricciardo has only competed two full weekends so far this year, having taken on the role of Red Bull Racing reserve driver for the year before being called up to replace the sacked Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri.

He returned to the Hungarian Grand Prix grid with great fanfare and an impressive result, qualifying and finishing ahead of teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

However, his subsequent performance in Belgium was more difficult. He qualified second to last after dropping a more competitive lap time due to track limitations and finished a disappointing 16th in the Grand Prix on an afternoon when Tsunoda scored points.

Points have been difficult to come by for AlphaTauri this season, although replacement Lawson scored the team’s best result of the year with a ninth place in Singapore last month.

The car has been heavily improved for this race, and the team is optimistic that it can be consistently in contention for points for the remainder of the season.

AlphaTauri will be armed with another major upgrade this weekend, with a new floor that will be tested at the Circuit of the Americas.

“There is still a lot of performance to be found in these cars at the floor space level,” said Guilherme Dezoteux, vehicle performance manager, according to RaceFans. “We’re making the floors for Austin and hoping this will be another step in the same direction.”

Dezoteux said he was optimistic that the team would be back on track after a disappointing start to the season, with recent upgrades bringing performance improvements in line with factory expectations.

“It’s fair to say that since Silverstone the updates have been effective, and this is a very positive sign for our aerodynamic department, because correlation is a difficult exercise,” he said.

“When you start delivering, that means the whole chain, from analyzing the car data, looking at the correlation with the wind tunnel and CFD and developing the aerodynamic surface, is working.”

Ricciardo’s return will end Liam Lawson’s long stint as a replacement driver, although his return to the grid remains unclear.

Talk to Grid walkThe Kiwis’ unexpected recruit says a return to reserve duty is being considered next year with a view to possible full-time AlphaTauri training in 2025.

“Two months ago I definitely wasn’t highly considered for Formula 1 and, to be honest, it almost felt like it was starting to slip away a little bit,” he said. “With this opportunity, it really helped, and at least maybe there will be an opportunity in the future.

“For the moment, nothing is confirmed for me. It will be used next year as a reserve — for now, that’s it.

“Until I have a contract in hand that [says] I’m a driver, so I think I’ll be happy. Obviously, at the moment, I don’t have that.