Eight-time Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo will return to AlphaTauri this weekend. The Australian is recovering from a hand injury suffered at Zandvoort and admitted he found it frustrating to have to watch from the sidelines. However, in Austin he will be back behind the wheel and he feels completely ready for it.

2023 is planned to be a gap year for ‘The Honey Badger’. However, after ten matches it turned out that Nyck de Vries was unable to impress the Red Bull leadership so Max Verstappen’s former teammate returned to the Austrian sister team. That performance didn’t last long, as at Zandvoort Ricciardo suffered a metacarpal fracture in a bid to avoid Oscar Piastri. The Australian has now recovered and is looking forward to it press release from AlphaTauri ahead of the race in Austin.

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Qatar came too early

“It’s great to be back! My hand is much better and the simulator is a useful way to assess it. I tried it the week before Qatar but I didn’t feel completely ready, so I spent the rest of the week in England and spent more time on the simulator,” he explained. Liam Lawson filled in for the races that Ricciardo was unable to compete in, but that is no longer necessary for the US race. “I feel ready to go. My overall condition is good because I continue to train as much as possible, although of course I can’t do much with my left hand or arm for a while.”

It was frustrating to watch

But Ricciardo had to admit that it wasn’t fun having to watch from the sidelines. “It’s been really frustrating watching the last few races, especially because I’ve reached the point where I’m ready to start racing again. I had two races and I had to stop for a while again. The time without racing was actually quite fast,” explained the 34-year-old driver. The AT04 now has a number of updates and Ricciardo can’t wait to get started. “It’s quite interesting to see how it will work out. As for this weekend, I always enjoy Austin. It’s very unique for a modern circuit with its drops and bumps. That means it’s going to be quite a physically demanding race. You get the idea. It’s a hit to me, but I think I like it.”