F1 2023 Dutch Grand Prix: Daniel Ricciardo to be replaced by Liam Lawson, here’s why

AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo has been ruled out of the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix due to an injury sustained in a crash during Friday’s practice, resulting in Liam Lawson earning his Formula One GP debut with the team. Ricciardo followed Oscar Piastri into the barriers at Circuit Zandvoort’s Turn 3 in the early stages of Free Practice 2, putting him out of the session there and then.

Replays later revealed the Australian’s hands being thrown around in the cockpit due to him still holding the steering wheel when he came in contact with the barriers, and him being in clear discomfort as he stepped out of the AlphaTauri. After breaking a metacarpal on his left hand, Daniel Ricciardo will be out of the remainder of the 2023 Dutch GP, which would have been his third race with the team since returning to the F1 grid.
Meanwhile Liam Lawson is currently one of the reserve drivers for Red Bull and AlphaTauri, and has been competing in the Super Formula championship in Japan this year. Lawson made his F1 weekend debut with AlphaTauri during FP1 for the Belgian Grand Prix last year, before a second appearance for the team in Mexico and then an outing with Red Bull in Abu Dhabi. However, this will be the first time that the 21-year old will actually race in F1.

It is yet to be seen if Ricciardo could make a full recovery till the time of the next race at Monza, i.e. the Italian Grand Prix, set to be held on the next weekend. That said, here is the schedule for the remainder of the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix as per Indian Standard Time (IST) –

August 26 (Saturday)
Practice 3 – 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Qualifying – 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
August 27 (Sunday)
Race – 6:30 PM onwards
Stay tuned to TOI Auto for the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix Qualifying report later today and race report tomorrow.