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Australian F1 star Daniel Ricciardo has spoken ahead of his return to the track, racing for AlphaTauri at the upcoming United States Grand Prix in Texas.
The 34-year-old was sidelined for five races with a broken hand, injuring a metacarpal in his left hand after crashing into a barrier during a practice session at the Dutch Grand Prix in August .
The injury required surgery, but Ricciardo is now ready to return, having returned to full fitness in the Red Bull simulator.
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Ricciardo began the F1 season as a reserve driver for Red Bull but quickly replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri, driving for the team at the Hungarian Grand Prix in July.
“It feels good to be back. My hand feels a lot better and the simulator has been a useful way to assess it. I tried it the week before Qatar, but it didn’t feel like it. “He was exploiting his full potential,” Ricciardo said.
“So I spent the rest of the week in the UK, spending more time in the simulation, and I got to a point where I felt ready to go.
“My general fitness is good and I have continued to train as much as I can, although I obviously haven’t been able to do much with my left hand or arm for a while.
“It was really frustrating watching the last few races, especially since I had gotten to a point where I was so ready to start again and race, and then I did two events and had to press again on “Pause”, but in fact the time without running passed quite quickly.
AlphaTauri has introduced a number of upgrades to the AT04 in Ricciardo’s absence.
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However, he was able to test them in the simulator and is confident that he will be able to exploit their “full effect”.
“The current car has evolved a bit since I last drove it, but the simulation was useful to get a feel for what the changes and updates have brought,” Ricciardo said.
“I felt a little bit of their effect, but it’s one of those things, I think, that once I get on track, I’ll feel it fully.
“So, I can’t wait to see what it’s like first hand.” As for this weekend, I’ve always enjoyed Austin.
“It’s very unique for a modern circuit, and the undulations and bumps make the circuit physical. It hurts you, but I think I like it.
“I like the challenge. Many peaks are also quite wide, so there are particular turns that make the trail exceptional and stand out.
