Daniel Ricciardo is still out of action following a crash at the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix.
The Australian broke a bone in his left hand during a practice session, with Liam Lawson temporarily taking his seat.
The Sporting News has the latest updates on Ricciardo's condition and his potential return date.
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When is Daniel Ricciardo coming back to F1? Expected injury return date
Ricciardo is anticipated to return for AlphaTauri at this weekend's United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
The Australian jumped behind the wheel of a Red Bull as part of a show run in Nashville on Sunday (local time) as he takes the next step in his injury recovery.
Daniel Ricciardo is back in a Red Bull ahead of the US Grand Prix next weekend 🤠 pic.twitter.com/pc2VFV5R4g
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) October 14, 2023
His broken metacarpal has seen him miss four races so far — Italy, Singapore, Japan and Qatar.
Fortunately for Ricciardo, he won't have to stress about his racing prospects for next season, with the Australian already signing an extension with AlphaTauri until the end of 2024.
Daniel Ricciardo injury: What happened to Australian F1 driver at Dutch Grand Prix?
Ricciardo crashed during the early stages of the opening practice session at Circuit Zandvoort.
The AlphaTauri driver went into the barrier at Turn 3, appearing to be slow to notice McLaren's Oscar Piastri, who had crashed there shortly beforehand.
Ricciardo, whose steering wheel snapped, immediately told his team that his hand was in pain as he struggled to leave the car following the accident.
Hospital results later showed Ricciardo had broken a metacarpal in his left hand.
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"The day was going pretty well," Ricciardo told AlphaTauri's official channel.
"We made some changes and the few laps I did on the hard tyre before the crash felt good; we were building up and improving.
"At that time, we were pretty competitive and I was feeling positive. I remember coming into Turn 3. I had already gotten into the corner and then saw Piastri, so it was either hit him or the wall.
"When I hit the wall, I didn't have enough time to take my hands off the steering wheel, so the wheel came and hit my hand."
Who is Liam Lawson? New Zealand driver replaces Ricciardo at AlphaTauri
Liam Lawson was chosen by AlphaTauri to step in for Ricciardo and has performed strongly since.
Born in Hastings, New Zealand, Lawson was a karting champion as a child.
He finished sixth in the NZ Formula First championship as a 14-year-old, winning Rookie of the Year in his debut campaign in the competition.
The Kiwi prodigy won all but one race in the 2016/17 F1600 Championship Series, becoming the youngest-ever Formula Ford champion in the world at the time.
After impressing in the Euroformula Open Championship, F3 Asian Championship, ADAC Formula 4 and the Australian F4 Championship between 2017 and 2019, Lawson won the Toyota Racing Series title in his home race.
He then joined Red Bull's junior driver system, collecting wins at the Red Bull Ring, Silverstone and the Mugello Circuit on his way to fifth place in the Formula 3 standings with British team Hitech Grand Prix.
He competed for Hitech in Formula 2 in 2021 and 2022 and made his F1 debut during the first free practice for the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix, replacing AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly and taking 19th place in the session.
He then drove Max Verstappen's Red Bull in the first free practices of the Mexico and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekends and is currently a test and reserve driver for AlphaTauri and Red Bull Racing in 2023.
Lawson made his F1 race debut at Zandvoort, finishing P13 after a rain-affected afternoon.
He then had another solid performance at Monza, picking up a P11 finish before securing his first championship points with an impressive P9 result in Singapore.
The Kiwi driver had a quieter race in Japan, finishing just outside of the points in P11.
His worst result — P17 — came last week in Qatar.