Daniel Ricciardo: I am in good physical condition

Daniel Ricciardo missed five stages with a hand injury, but will return to the wheel in Austin. He and his AlphaTauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda are counting on a productive American Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo: “It’s great to be back! My hand is much better and working on the simulator was a useful way to assess its condition. I tried to work on the simulator a week before the Qatar stage, but I realized that I wasn’t feeling my full potential yet. So I spent most of that week in the UK working on the simulator. Gradually I got to the point where I realized I was ready. In general I am in good physical condition, as I have continued to train as much as possible, although I have obviously had to limit the use of my left arm for a while.

It was a bit disappointing watching the last few races from the sidelines. After all, I returned, but after two stages I had to take a break again. It’s good that the time away from the track passed quickly.

Our car has changed since the last time I drove it. The simulator allowed us to understand how new products work. So far I have felt a small effect from the updates, but I think I will be able to fully appreciate the effect on the track. I was with the team in Singapore when the new features first appeared on the car, and the feedback was largely positive. Now I want to make my own impression.

As for this upcoming weekend, I’ve always enjoyed it in Austin. There is a unique modern circuit here and the unevenness and bumps make driving physically challenging. I like a challenge. The apexes of many of the corners are quite wide and some of them make the track exceptional.”

Yuki Tsunoda: “The weekend in Qatar was not the most successful for us. On Sunday I had a good starting position, but I didn’t have the pace in the sprint and the race. There was a lot of talk about the hot weather that weekend, and in my opinion the heat made everything more difficult. And although I felt good physically after the race, it was still very hot, especially when you were behind another car. Formula 1 is a difficult sport, but in Qatar it was definitely more difficult than normal.

The races in the upcoming built series will be interesting, but each with different challenges. I’m happy to be able to race every weekend, but the team staff, and especially the mechanics, will have a hard time. I hope they won’t have any problems in the next three weeks.

I scored points a few times in Austin. I like coming to this stage, this circuit and this city. The circuit is interesting – the first section is reminiscent of Suzuka with fast corners and changes of direction, so it’s interesting to drive. Particularly noteworthy is the first bend with its blind apex on the hill – a quite unique configuration.

Our team has performed well at this track in recent years, but it is difficult to predict how everything will go this time. There is a long straight on the track and this season we have had problems with speed on the straights, so we will try to make up time in the corners. I don’t think there will be such serious problems as in Qatar, but we still face a difficult stage.

There is still a sprint stage ahead, so we know how important it is to have a clean Friday training. To be honest, I couldn’t put all the pieces of the puzzle together with the sprint last weekend, which made qualifying for the sprint difficult, but I hope that this time we will do everything right, and if the car is fast, then the maximum We will utilize every chance.

On Monday I flew to Austin because of jet lag. It is a great city with lots to do. I’m a big fan of the local cuisine, I especially love the brisket!”