Ricciardo remembers the accident at Zandvoort…

In August, Daniel Ricciardo broke his wrist in an accident in Zandvoort. In the Beyond the Grid podcast he recalled these events…

Daniel Ricciardo: “I remember the accident very well, because I didn’t hit my head (laughs). When you come out of turn 2 at Zandvoort, you don’t look around you, but in front of you, and choose the optimal top. There were no yellow flags, no warnings, and then I saw Oscar Piastri’s car wrecked.

I was going too fast to take another line, I didn’t want to bump into him, I ended up bumping into the barrier. The car lost traction, the steering wheel turned quickly and the lower part of it hit my hand hard.

At first there was a shock from the accident, a surge of adrenaline, I said on the radio something like: “Guys, sorry, I crashed the car.” They asked me, “Are you okay, can you continue?” And I said, “No, the car is damaged,” and suddenly I felt a pain in my hand, which was increasing by the second. I took off my glove and saw that my hand was swelling rapidly. Once I got into the medical car I was already in a lot of pain and realized I wouldn’t be able to race this weekend.

I was operated on by a surgeon who has already operated a lot in MotoGP. He has a lot of experience. He said: “Formula 1 and MotoGP racers feel no pain.” But I felt pain and suffering for the entire 48 hours I was there.

I think all the doctors, nurses and those who helped me were surprised when I flinched, withdrew and asked questions. They were sure I was as cool as the MotoGP riders!

The break was quite difficult, they had to tinker. It wasn’t just a bone broken in half, it was eight pieces. It didn’t look great at first, but they made it happen.”