An infected lip due to his own doing kept Daniel Ricciardo from enjoying one of his last Grand Prix wins while racing for Red Bull.
In 2018, the Honey Badger had to get a small surgery done after accidentally biting his lip in Bahrain ahead of his win in China.
While Ricciardo managed to get top honours despite the infection flaring up during his epic race in China, he was forced to take time out to tend to his lip before proceeding with his racing duties.
Ricciardo flew to London to get a minor surgery, where he was also set to perform Red Bull simulator duties.
“I wish I had some decent stories of crazy three-day parties and that sort of thing to share with you, but it was about as uneventful as celebrations get,” Ricciardo said.
“I was on multiple flights connecting the night after the race, went straight into the Red Bull Racing factory at Milton Keynes, had time in the simulator, and then I had to get some minor surgery.”
Ricciardo had initially caused this damage to himself after biting his lip in Bahrain. The wound got infected to such an extent that it required surgery.
“So I had to get that taken out and stitched back up in London, so that – and a fair bit of talking about China-was basically the week after Shanghai,” he said.
Ricciardo’s plans going forward are relatively unknown.
The Australian driver has already signed with Red Bull to be the team’s third driver.
This will give him plenty of time to feature in other racing events as he no longer has the responsibilities of a full-time driver.
When asked if he was keen on featuring in Le Mans, a racing series that he has often spoken about in the past, Ricciardo offered a crisp response.
“A race like Le Mans could be interesting, but not the whole series. I would be the same as now, just with different cars. I need a break. It’s a journey into the unknown,” he said.
“If there were one, I want to be as prepared as possible. With one foot, I’ll remain in the scene.”
“A whole year of doing nothing would not be a good plan,” he said.