Marko voices doubts over speedy Ricciardo return

Helmut Marko has voiced concerns over Daniel Ricciardo's hopes of returning to AlphaTauri for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Ricciardo is currently recovering after suffering a broken hand in his practice crash at Zandvoort which allowed Liam Lawson to make his F1 debut as a late replacement.

The Australian has undergone surgery on his left-hand, with a recovery time of around six weeks expected for normal people having suffered a similar injury.

There were hopes that because of Ricciardo's fitness as an elite athlete, this time might be shortened to allow him to return for Singapore on the weekend of 15-17 September, four weeks after the incident.

However, Marko now believes this is an overly optimistic timeline - and also doubts Ricciardo's participation in the Japanese Grand Prix the week after.

"Normally it takes six weeks," Red Bull Motorsport Advisor Marko explained to media including RacingNews365 of the recovery time for Ricciardo.

"In the very best case, the first race which he will be back is Singapore, however, this is physically one of the most extreme circuits.

"[He] is unlikely [to return there] and the same is actually true of Suzuka."

Lawson will continue to fill in for Ricciardo until he is fit to resume driving, which could be at the Qatar Grand Prix on October 6th if Marko's timeline is accurate.

There is no clash for Lawson with his Super Formula commitments in Japan - where he is in contention for the title heading into the double-header finale at Suzuka which takes place over the Mexican Grand Prix weekend - by which time Ricciardo should have resumed the AlphaTauri seat.