Horner outlines potential Ricciardo F1 return date

Christian Horner has revealed when Daniel Ricciardo could return to AlphaTauri following his injury on Friday at Zandvoort.

The Australian crashed during the second practice session ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix and suffered a broken metacarpal in his left hand, ruling him out of the weekend.

Liam Lawson has been called up in his place and Ricciardo’s absence is set to extend for several weeks due to the nature of the injury, with surgery a possibility.

Ricciardo’s leave has come amid his push to secure a full-season seat, having only been placed into the AlphaTauri car during the two races prior to the summer break after Nyck de Vries was relieved of his seat.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the final practice session, Horner stated that Ricciardo is looking to get back into the car for Singapore.

"That’s the thing he was most frustrated about, talking with him last night, was that he’s just taken a bunch of time off, he’s just got his mojo back getting him back into it and now he's on the bench again," Horner said.

"So that was his frustration. They [AlphaTauri] have started to make some progress, it’s a shame for him but I'm sure in the back of his mind he's probably got Singapore as a target.

"But Singapore is probably one of the most physical circuits on the calendar but nature will take its course."

Operation possible

Ricciardo is set to have an operation this weekend in Spain before a timeline is placed on his potential return.

"These guys, we see it in MotoGP, they bounce back pretty quick," Horner added.

"So he's headed off to Barcelona. They may even do a little operation on him to just tidy up where that break is.

"It’s quite a clean break and then of course, it's all about the recuperation and how long that takes.

“Any normal human being would probably be about 10 to 12 weeks, but we know that these guys aren't normal.

"So, then it'll all be about the recovery process.

"How long that will take, you know is it going to be three weeks, is it a month? Is it six weeks? Nobody really knows."