Ricciardo ready for physical return: 'COTA does beat you up'

Daniel Ricciardo is back for the second time this F1 season. After breaking a bone in his hand, the Australian has now recovered sufficiently to re-enter AlphaTauri's AT04 and drive the last five races for the team. The US Grand Prix will immediately be a tough one for Ricciardo.

Ricciardo makes second comeback of 2023

So says the driver himself in his preview of this year's second race in the United States. Ricciardo is a well-liked figure in Austin, and he himself enjoys coming there. Now that he has recovered, Ricciardo is looking forward to the US event at the Circuit of the Americas. Ricciardo: "It’s good to be back! My hand is much better, and the simulator was a useful way of assessing it."

In Qatar, Ricciardo already climbed into the sim and found out that his hand injury meant he was not yet able to reach his full potential: "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. 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."

Ricciardo faces intense weekend

Ricciardo expects it to be an intense weekend. Not only because of his hand that has just recovered but also because his AlphaTauri has changed considerably since the last time he drove it. Ricciardo: "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. 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."

Speaking specifically about COTA, the AlphaTauri driver said the following: "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."