Ricciardo hints at F1 comeback: 'Then I want to be out there again'

When will Ricciardo return to F1?

After his session in the simulator, Ricciardo will assess how far his left hand has recovered, after which he will decide when he will return to the Formula 1 grid. For now, the recovery of his broken metacarpal is "coming along," the F1 driver himself reported.

"That’s kind of my first test really to see where I’m at and simply make a call from there," Ricciardo is quoted by Perth Now. "I definitely want to be out there in… call it the next few weeks, that’s the plan. Probably early next week I should know."

For now, Ricciardo is leaving open whether he intends to return to Qatar already, or whether he will wait a little longer until the F1 race in Austin. Until then, Liam Lawson will continue to replace him. So far, Lawson has received high praise for his performances in Ricciardo's AlphaTauri. Yet the New Zealander will still be on the sidelines next year, as Red Bull Racing's sister team recently announced it will continue with Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda.

AlphaTauri chief Jonathan Eddolls previously indicated that a simulator test was coming up for the Australian. Eddolls additionally said the driver's recovery would take some time and Red Bull team boss Christian Horner also said Ricciardo might not return until the US GP.