Despite the fact that some even put Oscar Piastri in his seat at McLaren for the 2023 season, in addition to an Álex Palou recently signed by the British firm, Ricciardo has ended those rumors by establishing himself in his seat.
Who was going to tell a Daniel Ricciardo that he debuted in Formula 1 back in 2011, at the hands of the Spanish team HRTthat his future in the premier category of motorsport would be in question 10 years later after having won the recognition of the paddock with brilliant performances?
With 8 wins to his name, the most recent in an abnormal 2021 Italian GP in which the McLaren drivers did a double, the Australian driver is not even the shadow of the talent that questioned the talent of Sebastian Vettel even in Red Bull and that, a little later, began to pale with Max Verstappen as teammate box.
The beginning of the end
After abandoning up to 8 times in 2018, the most painful of them probably that of Mexico, after having managed to win the pole position in qualifying, Ricciardo he changed airs after being suffocated in the energy drink team and headed for a Renault to start a new stage… that barely lasted 2 years.
It is true that #3 first beat Nico Hülkenberg and then Esteban Ocon respectively, but it was in his new jump, this time in the direction of McLaren, when started to dissolve on the back of a single-seater to which he could not find the point.
The 2022 season did not start differently for him: aboard a McLaren MCL36 whose brakes did not hold up in pre-season, Ricciardo missed the pre-season tests in Bahrain due to feeling unwell on the eve of a 14th place in the first race of the year and an abandonment in Jeddah.
Is Ricciardo destined to fail? Not much less, or so he thinks at least. “There have been many rumors about my future in Formula 1, but I want you to hear it from me,” he reflected on social networks on the same day that Álex Palou was announced as the new signing of McLaren… without closing the door to the division of Formula 1.
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“I am committed to McLaren until the end of next year, I’m not leaving this sport. I recognize that it has not always been easy, but who wants something easy! I’m working my ass off with the team to improve and get the car back right at the front of the grid where it belongs. I still want this more than ever. See you at Le Castellet. Daniel », concluded his statement.
Now or never
Zack Brown has confirmed on numerous occasions the disappointment that it has meant for him to realize that Ricciardo is not capable of performing at the level that made him stand out on the grid and that teams like McLaren set their sights on him, although the American leader has never dropped that his contract with those from Woking can end early.
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It is true that it would not be the first time that a contract it is rescinded on a date earlier than initially planned, but Ricciardo has everything with him to test himself for another whole season, with this new generation of single-seaters, before finally hanging up the gloves or trying his luck in another category.
This maneuver indirectly links Palou with the McLaren IndyCar team, thus closing the door for Colton Hertha and he… at least in the short term, since from 2024 onwards no one yet knows who will accompany Lando Norris, a pilot with a valid contract until the end of 2025, in the British formation.