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AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo discussed the accident that led to his injury during the second free practice session, admitting to having voluntarily crashed into the wall to avoid a worse accident by hitting McLaren driver Oscar Piastri.
Daniel Ricciardo sustained an injury during the second session of free practice on Friday at Zandvoort. In a series of events, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri lost control of his car and crashed into the barriers. The Australian, who was in a fast lap, only saw him at last and decided to crash into the wall to avoid a worse accident by hitting Piastri.
Further checks executed on Ricciardo revealed that the 34-year-old sustained a broken metacarpal on his left hand and hence will not compete during Sunday’s Grand Prix for what would have been his second race since his comeback in Hungary to replace Nyck De Vries.
Commenting on the accident, Ricciardo explained to RaceFans: “I was very excited to be back after the break. The day was going pretty well. We made some changes for FP2 and the few laps I did on the hard tyre before the crash felt good; we were building up and improving. At that time, we were pretty competitive, and I was feeling positive.”
Ricciardo: injury ‘unfortunate and frustrating’
He then went on to say: “I remember coming into turn three, I had already gotten into the corner and then saw Piastri, so it was either hit him or the wall.”
“When I hit the wall, I didn’t have enough time to take my hands off the steering wheel, so the wheel came and hit my hand. It’s really unfortunate and frustrating, but I’ll try to recover as quickly as I can.”
With doctors set to evaluate in the next few days on the necessity of surgery, Ricciardo will be replaced by Red Bull Junior driver Liam Lawson in Zandvoort and possibly in Monza with the Australian wishing good luck to Lawson: “Obviously, I’d love to get back soon, but I also want to ensure we do things the right way, so I come back strong and competitive,”
“I wish the team well, and I’m sorry for the change in plans again. It’s a chance for Liam to have a go, and I wish him and the team a strong weekend.”
Headline Image: Red Bull Content Pool