Official: Daniel Ricciardo will not continue at McLaren

Daniel Ricciardo will not continue McLaren. This is something taken for granted, especially after the rumors about the possible arrival of other drivers from IndyCar, such as Alex Palou, or the fear of piastre of Alpine once the French announced his promotion to F1 without permission. Everyone then considered that the young Australian had a deal McLarenand in the absence of knowing how the situation of Oscar or Palou, or if McLaren decided to bet on another driveranother important piece has been put into this puzzle: Daniel Ricciardo Y McLaren announced this Wednesday the termination of their relationship at the end of this campaign, thus leaving the steering wheel free for Piastri, Palou or other candidates (the American Colton Herta also sounded) beside Lando Norris in 2023.

Finally, it will be necessary to see if McLaren will bet on signing Oscar Piastri if the Australian driver, although still inexperienced in F1 (21 years old), can resolve his legal differences with Alpine. However, there are many candidates for that post. The Mexican said this recently Duck O’WardMcLaren driver for IndyCar, referring to the rumors about Piastri and McLaren: “I see it and I laugh, because it promises the same award (going to F1)… Zak Brown did it to others at McLaren, but then has only one place, not five.”

For this reason, McLaren could not confirm its line-up before the F1 Belgian GP and said so “The team will confirm the full driver line-up for 2023 in due course.”

Asked about Ricciardo’s possible replacement at a special press conference called for the occasion, McLaren CEO Zak Brown dodged all questions. Asked if he would wait until the end of the IndyCar season to announce his new signing, he quickly dodged the question: “We’ll announce it before the first race of 2023.” And when asked about Palou, Brown made it clear he didn’t want to talk about drivers other than Ricciardo.

The end of a disappointing marriage

“McLaren Racing and Daniel Ricciardo can confirm that Daniel’s contract for 2023 has been terminated early, as both parties agree that he will leave the team at the end of the 2022 Formula 1 season.” In this way, an association that never worked due to poor adaptation to the orange car of a driver in the category of Danielwhich came with the leader band after its victories at Red Bull and its short-lived passing Renault.

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Where will Ricciardo go?

“I will reveal my own future plans in due course,” he said. Ricciardowho has been playing as a substitute for several weeks Fernando Alonso at Alpinea structure in which he drove in 2019 and 2020 (Renault), ending with a good feeling with a 5th place in the World Championship in his last year with the French team with 119 points, far surpassing his allied with Ocon, who is 12th. with 62 points.

However, in recent days ESPN has confirmed that the Haas team is interested in acquiring the services of the veteran Australian driver (33 years old) to fill the vacant position. Mike Schumacherwhich also rings for Alpine.

Daniel suffered badly from the start in an English car with a different philosophy from those he had previously driven and finished 8th in his first year at McLaren, while his teammate, the young Norris, finished 10th -6 years. Beginnings have a lot of pressure because expectations are high as a substitute for a Carlos Sainz that he set the bar very high before leaving ferrari. Landau amassing three podiums in the first 9 races and the Australian not finishing at the start, although eventually a surprise victory would come. Monza which fills the McLaren boss with hope, Zack Brownabout his signing. In 2022, with completely different cars due to the change in regulations, Ricciardo He had a second and final chance, but again he failed the company’s management. waking upwho lost patience and looked outside for alternatives.

In 2022, with nine races remaining, McLaren is in the middle of a battle for fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship against Alpine and Ricciardo is losing points. Of the 95 points that the English team has, 76 have the signature of Lando Norris and only 19 come from Daniel.

Ricciardo: “I will reveal my own plans in due course”

“It has been a privilege to be part of the McLaren Racing family for the past two seasons, but after several months of discussions with Zak (Brown) and Andreas (Seidl), we have decided to terminate my contract with the team early and have agreed .to part ways.with each other at the end of this period.

“I will reveal my own future plans in due course, but whatever the next chapter brings, I have no regrets and I am proud of the effort and work I did at McLaren, especially the win at Monza last season. Enjoy I look forward to working with everyone at McLaren, both on the track and in Woking, and I will give it my all on and off the track as we enjoy the rest of the season together. I have never been more motivated to compete and be part of a sport that I like so much and look forward to. looking forward to what happens next.”

Seidl: “We will never forget the unforgettable victory at Monza”

“I would like to thank Daniel for his dedication and contribution in the last two seasons so far. Despite the shared challenges, he always shows fighting spirit and positivity and helps the whole team to move forward. We will never forget the unforgettable win in race at Monza, which is a big boost for the whole team. We still have a big fight in the Constructors’ Championship ahead of us for the rest of the season and we look forward to fighting them with Daniel and Lando.”

Zak Brown: “We hope to achieve more together”

“Daniel has been a great addition to McLaren and it’s been a pleasure working with him. I want to thank him for all his efforts in the last two seasons, both on the track and at the base. It’s no secret that we hope we can achieve more together, but seeing him on the top step of the podium as a McLaren driver is the highlight. We wish him all the best for the future and let’s enjoy the rest of the season together. “