McLaren F1 Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo is "moving forward together" with Optus, signing a two-year extension, but is he moving forward with McLaren?

Especially in times of adversity and from having the courage and commitment to say yes.” “Appreciate it hasn’t always been easy, but who wants easy? Chief marketing officer Melissa Hopkins said: “We look forward to Daniel showing the global Formula 1 community exactly what has made our favourite ‘honey badger’ so formidable.

Four contenders loom for Ricciardo's signature. A 'long game' twist could sway his call.

It also has Zhou Guanyu out of contract this season, and though the Chinese rookie has acquitted himself well, the team is yet to re-sign him. It would be a difficult sell to Ricciardo to take a punt on things moving forwards rather than backwards. It means the team is without a proven, established bar with which to measure its car’s ultimate performance. He’s been upfront about his underperformance, and returning to Alpine, where he had one of the best seasons of his career in 2020, would just be an extension of that. Further, the team has an eye to promoting its development driver, Théo Pourchaire, from Formula 2. The only thing that would prevent Ricciardo and Alpine renewing the relationship that ended in 2020 is pride. Much like Haas, Williams may not feel ready for a heavy hitter of Ricciardo’s stature. Both would surely be keen to defeat McLaren in a straight fight, and they’re each other’s best chance of doing so. Esteban Ocon is credible enough but really the team needs a high-calibre spearhead, and there’s no-one on the market who comes close to Ricciardo’s potential or brand value. AlphaTauri is also moving closer to re-signing Yuki Tsunoda, who Franz Tost wants to give a third season to establish himself. Anyway, signing 33-year-old Ricciardo also doesn’t click with what’s supposed to be Red Bull’s development team. Why it doesn’t

Daniel Ricciardo's pending Formula 1 exit from McLaren is set to end two difficult years for the eight-time grand prix winner.

I’m still not setting the world on fire, but I’m not saying a win is going to happen in a week, but I feel like it’s going to come. All eight of his F1 victories have come in cars that were not the fastest on the grid, proving his ability to wring performance out of his machinery. A car he can click with will be the key to quickly make that happen. “Because even you look across the grid, even the best driver on the grid, whoever you say it is, whoever someone says it is, they are not eight-tenths better than the second best. I didn’t do anything to provoke that, so why the hell did that just happen!’ Just stuff like that.” “It kind of just comes down to the feel. It points to the difference between Norris and Ricciardo this year. It’s probably still hard to get a read, I guess, and to really build consistency in a race sometimes. "It’s not a bad thing, it’s just that’s what it is, and you have to adapt to it. The MCL36, just like the MCL35M, excels in high-speed corners but struggles more when it comes to the medium-speed stuff. He has always been a driver who thrived off having complete confidence in the car, allowing him to be aggressive and throw it around. Ricciardo’s arrival for 2021 was seen as a coup for McLaren, snaring the Australian away from Enstone - an act it is now set to repeat with Oscar Piastri. Ricciardo's struggles through last season were put down to acclimatising to a new car philosophy, which were gradually ironed out and led to his Monza victory.

The controversy of Daniel Ricciardo's contract with McLaren hasn't deterred Optus from resigning the F1 driver as an ambassador.

Ricciardo did not comment directly on the ongoing reports about his contract in a video he filmed over the weekend about his renewed partnership. The telco is one of several sponsors of Ricciardo, who has also worked with carsales.com, Go Pro, Puma and Blue Coast. He was estimated to be worth about $50 million in 2021, with an annual salary of $15 million. “We look forward to Daniel showing the global Formula 1 community exactly what has made our favourite honey badger so formidable.”

McLaren are trying to replace the struggling Daniel Ricciardo with Alpine reserve driver Oscar Piastri, who has insisted he will not be driving for the ...

Another urged the team to come clean, writing: “McLaren, [it's] seriously time for you to release a statement with regards to what has occurred this last week. He's the [only] McLaren driver to win a race since 2012 and this is how you treat him? Shame on you Zak [Brown] and the rest of management.” I really expected more from you McLaren. You've certainly changed and not for the better.” In contrast, McLaren has remained silent on the issue, while continuing with its regular social media posts, a mixture of light-hearted imagery and merchandise advertising, including Ricciardo clothing. Despite that contract, Ricciardo was reportedly told over the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend that McLaren intends to replace him, with talks said to be ongoing over a financial settlement.

McLaren are trying to replace the struggling Daniel Ricciardo with Alpine reserve driver Oscar Piastri, who has insisted he will not be driving for the ...

Another urged the team to come clean, writing: “McLaren, [it's] seriously time for you to release a statement with regards to what has occurred this last week. He's the [only] McLaren driver to win a race since 2012 and this is how you treat him? Shame on you Zak [Brown] and the rest of management.” I really expected more from you McLaren. You've certainly changed and not for the better.” In contrast, McLaren has remained silent on the issue, while continuing with its regular social media posts, a mixture of light-hearted imagery and merchandise advertising, including Ricciardo clothing. Despite that contract, Ricciardo was reportedly told over the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend that McLaren intends to replace him, with talks said to be ongoing over a financial settlement.

Daniel Ricciardo's pending Formula 1 exit from McLaren is set to end two difficult years for the eight-time grand prix winner.

I’m still not setting the world on fire, but I’m not saying a win is going to happen in a week, but I feel like it’s going to come. All eight of his F1 victories have come in cars that were not the fastest on the grid, proving his ability to wring performance out of his machinery. A car he can click with will be the key to quickly make that happen. “Because even you look across the grid, even the best driver on the grid, whoever you say it is, whoever someone says it is, they are not eight tenths better than the second best. I didn’t do anything to provoke that, so why the hell did that just happen!’ Just stuff like that.” “It kind of just comes down to the feel. It points to the difference between Norris and Ricciardo this year. It’s probably still hard to get a read, I guess, and to really build consistency in a race sometimes. "It’s not a bad thing, it’s just that’s what it is, and you have to adapt to it. The MCL36, just like the MCL35M, excels in high-speed corners but struggles more when it comes to the medium-speed stuff. He has always been a driver who thrived off having complete confidence in the car, allowing him to be aggressive and throw it around. Ricciardo’s arrival for 2021 was seen as a coup for McLaren, snaring the Australian away from Enstone - an act it is now set to repeat with Oscar Piastri. Ricciardo's struggles through last season were put down to acclimatising to a new car philosophy, which were gradually ironed out and led to his Monza victory.

Daniel Ricciardo's career prospects may not be as dire as many believe after McLaren's brutal move for fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri.

“It’s just the mentality in Mercedes – I sometimes feel if you’re happy in your relationship it is not always easy (to change). “It is like being married, you need to be 100 per cent behind it. Speaking regarding Alonso’s decision, Szafnauer, the former Aston Martin boss, said: “I know both teams well,” he said. “But as we sit here today, this team is performing at a much higher level. ESPN’s Nate Saunders also said Ricciardo would “still command the attention of teams up and down the grid” adding he is “one of the most marketable drivers on the grid at the moment and one who is especially popular in America”. And they’re happening fast.

Wherever he ends up next year, Daniel Ricciardo is going to keep on smiling. The most famous pearly whites in Formula One reappeared on Monday as the Australian ...

But the news leaked over the weekend that it was Ricciardo’s seat Piastri was set to take, while McLaren were set to cut the eight-time race winner loose for the prodigious youngster — a move which would reportedly cost McLaren $21m in a payout for Ricciardo. Alpine then announced Piastri would be the man to replace Alonso, only for the Melburnian to reject the seat, a bold move for a man who’s never driven an F1 car in anger. The most famous pearly whites in Formula One reappeared on Monday as the Australian driver posted on Instagram for the first time since it was reported he was being replaced at McLaren by Oscar Piastri in 2023.

Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer says the team would have no issue in bringing Daniel Ricciardo back should Oscar Piastri not drive for them in Formula 1 2023.

Ricciardo has a contract for 2023 but reports late last week stated that McLaren had told him they are planning to replace him. "And I don't think that's an issue at all. Daniel Ricciardo has reportedly been told by McLaren that they are planning to sign Oscar Piastri for 2023 - so could the 32-year-old return to the Renault family with Alpine? Team boss Otmar Szafnauer has his say on Ricciardo

DANIEL RICCIARDO looks set to lose his McLaren drive for next season as the team backs Oscar Piastri.

We've got to make sure that we complement that plan with the best driver that we can, and there are some options out there for us. The former F2 champion was announced as an Alpine driver last week but he posted a statement on social media hours later claiming this was not true. Ricciardo was photographed beaming while swimming on holiday, suggesting the Australian is not worried about his F1 future.

However, there have been some high points including the Australian's victory in the 2021 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, the first time the team had taken a race ...

McLaren may have to wait until the situation has been legally sorted before committing to making the Aussie their new star for 2023. Now, the team are trying to move the 33-year-old on to enable them to sign Alpine’s reserve driver Piastri. However, they face major hurdles to do so. Ricciardo has struggled at McLaren since joining the team in 2021.