Daniel Ricciardo says there was some race rust in the sprint at the United States Grand Prix but no concerns over his hand upon his return from injury.
The Australian broke his hand at the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August and missed five races as a result, returning this weekend in Austin. After a solid Saturday performance saw him qualify 11th and finish just behind Esteban Ocon in 12th, Ricciardo said he felt he was still lacking a bit of sharpness behind the wheel but that it was returning during the sprint.
“I would say there were definitely some pros and cons,” Ricciardo said. “The pros was it was fun. I just really enjoyed being back on the grid. It’s probably always my favorite feeling on a race weekend when the lights slowly all turn on and then off. That adrenaline spike, it’s hard to get that in many other things in life. That was really enjoyable.
“Some little bits of… I don’t like I saying it because I’m very experienced but this year not so experienced, but a bit of race rust. Turn 1, part of me is like, ‘I should have seen the inside bottle up a little earlier,’ and kind of stayed there and a couple of cars went on the outside — little race reads which I probably missed a little bit.
“Through the race I feel like I picked up some lines and made some improvements. Certainly still some things to work on for tomorrow.”
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Having opted to delay his comeback by an extra race, the broken hand provided no issues across the 19-lap sprint, although Ricciardo acknowledges he might find the grand prix a little tougher than usual given his time out of the seat this year.
“To be honest, it’s been OK,” he said. “Today was fine. Probably my bigger thing tomorrow is just some race fitness. I got those two races before the break, then haven’t done anything since. Kind of Budapest all over again. [I] expect to maybe sweat a little more than the others tomorrow, but honestly this (the hand) has been better than I thought; no concerns for tomorrow.
“I think that extra break [helped]. Also, myself, the confidence to push to hit a curb — my biggest fear was coming back and making excuses and then…the team’s upset, I’m upset, nobody wins. Happy with the approach.”