UK: 18+ USA: 21+ | Begambleaware.org | T&Cs apply | Play Responsibly
The two Australians of the Formula 1 grid, Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo, crashed at the same corner at the same time during the second free practice session ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.
Piastri-Ricciardo crash: What happened
Both drivers crashed at the third corner of the circuit, around twelve minutes into the one-hour long session.
The first driver to crash at the third corner was the rookie, who was maybe distracted by the Williams of Logan Sargeant, who was on a slow lap. Entering the very banked corner, Piastri lost the rear end of his McLaren, but he was unable to save his car and speared into the wall.
He impacted the tyre barrier with his rear left and then damaged his front left and his front wing as well. The damage meant he was unable to drive his car back to the pits, thus his session was over.
The car behind Piastri was Daniel Ricciardo. The Alpha Tauri driver was also pushing hard and he was unable to spot the McLaren, which was parked sideways on the track. With the yellow flags not coming on before he committed to the corner, Ricciardo was headed straight towards his compatriot.
In his efforts to slow down and avoid the McLaren, which thankfully did not happen, he locked up and crashed into the barrier as well. With extensive damage on the left hand side of his car, he was also unable to return to his garage and his session was also over.
More worryingly, Ricciardo held onto the steering wheel and it snapped as he impacted the barrier. Over team radio, he mentioned his hand was hurt. He subsequently visited the medical center and we are awaiting for further news.
In case the injury proves severe enough to prevent him from competing further this weekend, Super Formula driver and Red Bull Academy member Liam Lawson is on standby and would take over the seat.
Piastri-Ricciardo crash: Video of the accidents
Here is a video of the accident, which put an end to the session for both Piastri and Ricciardo
#DutchGP🇳🇱: Piastri puts it into the wall and Daniel shows Australian Patriotism.#F1 #Formula1 #McLarenF1 #AlphaTauri pic.twitter.com/qpMCLd8Je6
— F1 Live Clips (@f1liveclip) August 25, 2023
This was the second accident in Piastri’s young Formula 1 career, the first being light contact with the wall during the wet qualifying session at Canada. For Ricciardo, who is competing in his third Grand Prix this season, this is his first crash of the year.
Piastri will miss out on an opportunity to get acclimatised further in his MCL60, which has received further upgrades ahead of the thirteenth race of the season. His recent form has been great though, so expect the rookie to not suffer too much from his mishap in practice.
UPDATE: Following examinations at the medical center and a local hospital, Ricciardo was found to have broken his left wrist. He will be sidelined for this weekend and Liam Lawson will replace him and make his F1 debut.
Subscribe to Punditfeed on Google News for all the latest updates from the world of sports!
