Daniel Ricciardo is eager for his return from injury at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix after admitting it was “frustrating” watching from the sidelines.
Ricciardo, who replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri only 10 races into the year, has been absent from the previous five rounds since breaking his left hand in a practice crash at Zandvoort at the end of August.
The Australian underwent a run in the simulator ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix but elected to delay his comeback by one race weekend to allow his injury to heal further.
However, Ricciardo is raring to get back behind the wheel of the AT04 at the Circuit of the Americas, which will commence a run of three consecutive F1 race weekends.
“It’s good to be back! My hand is much better, and the simulator was a useful way of assessing it,” Ricciardo said in AlphaTauri’s Austin preview.
“I tried it out in the week before Qatar, but I didn’t feel it was at full potential, so I spent the rest of that week in the UK, spending more time in the sim, and got to a point where I felt ready to go.
“My overall fitness is fine as I kept training as much as I could, although I obviously couldn’t do much with my left hand or arm for a while.
“It was definitely frustrating watching the past few races, especially as I’d gotten myself to a place where I was so ready to go again and race, and then I did two events and had to hit ‘Pause’ again, but actually, the time without racing went quite quickly.”
AlphaTauri have introduced several updates since Ricciardo’s last appearance – including a sizeable Red Bull-inspired upgrade in Singapore last month.
Ricciardo, though, reveals that he has remained in the loop through technical debriefs and extensive simulator sessions.
“The current car has moved on a bit since I last drove it, but the sim was useful to get an idea of what the changes and updates have delivered,” he explained.
“I felt a little bit of their effect, but it’s one of those things I think, once I get on track, I’ll feel them to their full effect.
“I was there in Singapore when they tried it the first time, and it was interesting to hear the feedback and comments, which were mostly positive. So, I’m excited to see what it’s like first-hand.
“As for this weekend, I’ve always enjoyed Austin. It’s very unique for a modern-day circuit, and the undulations and bumps mean it’s physical. It does beat you up, but I think I like that.
“I like the challenge. A lot of the apexes are quite wide as well, so there are some peculiar corners which make the track exceptional and stand out.”
