Ricciardo could miss Singapore, Japan GPs as he recovers from broken hand

MONZA, Italy (AP) — AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo could miss the next two Formula One races as he continues to recover from a broken hand.

Ricciardo fractured his left hand in practice for last month’s Dutch Grand Prix and had surgery on Aug. 27.

The 34-year-old Australian was sidelined for the race in Zandvoort and last weekend’s Italian GP and it is unclear when he will return for Red Bull’s feeder team.

“Certainly Singapore, I don’t think there’s any chance he will be ready for then. It would be optimistic for Japan,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told reporters at Monza. “We’ve seen with motorcyclists rushing comebacks, they sometimes do more damage so I think we just want to make sure he’s fully fit before he gets back in the car.”

The Singapore GP is on Sept. 17 and the race in Suzuka a week later.

New Zealander Liam Lawson has stood in for Ricciardo for the past two races and he finished 11th at Monza after coming 13th on his F1 debut.

Ricciardo, an eight-time Grand Prix winner, was axed by McLaren at the end of last year but made an unexpected return to F1 in July to replace Nyck de Vries for the rest of the season.

He placed 13th at the Hungarian GP and 16th in Belgium.

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