The biggest grin in Formula One is back on the racing grid again.
Key points:
Daniel Ricciardo has recovered from a hand injury and will race for AlphaTauri at the US GP
Ricciardo says he wants to prove he “is not just here for a good time”
The Australian twice finished on the podium in Austin when he was with Red Bull
Daniel Ricciardo now wants to deliver results worthy of his return for AlphaTauri this season and that coveted seat in 2024.
Already given one career lifeline this season, Ricciardo missed the last five races with a broken left hand. But he returns this week to the US Grand Prix, where the 34-year-old has a history of having some cheeky fun.
“Hi guys! Long time no see,” Ricciardo said to the group of his fellow drivers when he walked into a news conference.
“I’m very happy to be back. The hand feels good,” Ricciardo said, adding the bone break that required surgery was worse than initially expected.
“[Recovery] was tougher than I thought, but I’m probably a bit of a wuss as well,” he said.
Ricciardo has often turned the Circuit of the Americas outside Texas’s capital city Austin into a bit of a personal playground.
He has been known to enter the paddock riding a horse, to mimic a Western accent in interviews, and wear a University of Texas Longhorns basketball jersey in the pre-race driver parade.
Eventually, there will have to be a serious side to the racing, which has not been so good for Ricciardo in recent years. At times it has been painful, both emotionally and physically.
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