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Ailing Daniel Ricciardo Just Needed 42 Seconds to Steal Max Verstappen’s GF’s Thunder After Historic Result

Published 09/04/2023, 7:00 AM EDT

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The Dutch lion roared at his home Grand Prix at Zandvoort last week and that roar amplified multifold to quieten the mightily loud and passionate Tifosi at the Italian GP on Sunday. Carlos Sainz’s elite defending too was put to rest as Max Verstappen took the Chequered Flag, securing the historic 10th consecutive victory. While his girlfriend, Kelly Piquet, was present to celebrate his victory in the paddock, an injured Daniel Ricciardo took the limelight from her on social media.

The Honey Badger broke the metacarpal of his left hand in practice at Zandvoort after a crash at the banked Turn 3. So, as of now, Ricciardo is a free man. The circumstances which have forced this off-time is definitely not the best way to do so. And neither does he want to be away from racing. But it is what it is. Despite this, the wounded soldier overtook Piquet in the race of celebrations.

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After the race, Verstappen posted a cold-looking carousel of the various celebratory moments. 42 seconds is all it took for his best friend and partner-in-crime, Daniel Ricciardo, to like the post. Piquet might not even have opened Instagram with that speed. Even with a broken hand, he double-tapped before the seconds-hand of the clock could think of moving.

If he can show this same pace on the racetrack, AlphaTauri will benefit greatly. But unfortunately, he is at home with a big plaster on his hand. To add to this bad news, Helmut Marko has given some more.

The comeback of Daniel Ricciardo pushed further as the F1 calendar set-up acts as a resistance

Right after his crash at the Dutch GP, Christian Horner had commented that the recovery process should be smooth and relatively quick for an athlete of Daniel Ricciardo‘s level. So, a Singapore GP comeback was predicted. But now that the Australian racer has had surgery and the Singapore track is very demanding, that return has been ruled out. Now, Marko has ruled out the Japanese GP comeback as well. Because the Suzuka Circuit, too, is a demanding one.

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“In the very best case, the first race which he will be back is Singapore,” said Marko. “However, this is physically one of the most extreme circuits. [He] is unlikely [to return there] and the same is actually true of Suzuka.”

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Watch This Story: Double Blow: Daniel Ricciardo,s Heartbreaking Crash Followed by Brutal Hit from Christian Horner

When his condition is so dire that he is out of racing action for approximately 6 weeks, he is cheering his best mate on. If this is not true love, what is?

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Written by:

Yash Kotak

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Yash is an F1 writer at EssentiallySports. With a strong passion for communicating through written word and a keen interest in the world of motorsports, he thoroughly enjoys being a fan of F1 and covering it for other fans. Ever since he watched the 'INSIDE TRACKS' episode covering the 2018 German Grand Prix, he has fallen in love with the intriguingly complex world of F1.
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Edited by:

Akash Pandhare