McLaren F1 Daniel Ricciardo

McLaren's instigation in making the move that has ended in an early parting of ways with Daniel Ricciardo has not been a universally popular one among ...

The seven-time F1 champion has been lumbered with a duff car before the 2022 Mercedes. And now, as ALEX KALINAUCKAS explains, he faces a battle to keep his place on the F1 grid… But as the 2022 season prepares to roar back into life, who stacks up as the top of the class, and who must do better?

Follow all the reaction to Daniel Ricciardo's split with McLaren as we look ahead to the return of F1 at this weekend's Belgian GP.

We had a lot of discussions, but in the end we mutually agreed that it was the right thing for both of us. [Formula 1](/topic/formula-1) campaign, on a deal that was set to run until the end of 2023. “Obviously we’ve put in a lot of effort on both sides, but it just hasn’t worked the way we wanted, so the team’s decided to make a change for next year. The future of the race staged at the iconic [Spa-Francorchamps](/topic/spa-francorchamps) venue – last year cancelled after just two rain-hit laps behind the safety car – is mired in doubt as [F1](/topic/f1) chiefs continue to expand the sport’s schedule. Ricciardo had a contract at McLaren until the end of 2023 and put speculation over his future seemingly to bed last month when he insisted he wanted to see out his deal despite struggling this season. “Hey, everyone, I wanted to share some news,” the 33-year-old said in a Twitter video. [Sky Germany](https://sport.sky.de/formel1/artikel/formel-1-ralf-schumacher-exklusiv-ueber-alpine-oscar-piastri-daniel-ricciardo/12671257/34270). Formula One returns after the summer break this weekend at [Spa](/topic/spa)-Francorchamps, but the future of the race is not clear as it enters the final year of its current contract. We had a lot of discussions, but in the end we mutually agreed that it was the right thing for both of us.” However, it is unclear if the Kyalami venue, last used by F1 19 years ago, will be up to scratch for next season, handing a potential reprieve to Spa. Obviously we’ve put in a lot of effort on both sides, but it just hasn’t worked the way we wanted, so the team’s decided to make a change for next year. However, disappointing performances since his arrival had put his position at the team in doubt, and McLaren revealed on Wednesday that

McLaren's boss Zak Brown said the team offered Daniel Ricciardo a switch to race in the US's IndyCar championship for the 2023 season.

While team Principal Andreas Seidl Seidl accepted that has to take responsibility for not giving Ricciardo a car he could compete with. Zak Brown said, “I think he understands that we weren’t able to put together the results that we’d hoped for. So he understands this and is as disappointed as we are that it didn’t work out.” He did enjoy some highs like in the 2021 Italian GP where he gave McLaren their first win since 2012. Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist currently drive for the IndyCar team. And he trails Norris by 57 points.

Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren have agreed to end their contract pre-maturely amidst a controversy that the Woking-based squad might fill in Oscar Piastri in ...

[McLaren](/topic/mclaren)will part ways with Australian driver [Daniel Ricciardo](/topic/daniel-ricciardo)after the 2022 F1 season. The latter is currently involved in a contract dispute with the Alpine team where he is a reserved driver. Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren have agreed to end their contract pre-maturely amidst a controversy that the Woking-based squad might fill in Oscar Piastri in his place.

Daniel Ricciardo couldn't have made it much clearer; he intends to stay in Formula 1 in 2023 after his bumper McLaren contract was terminated early - and ...

In that case, Ricciardo may be forced to look elsewhere. There is a scenario, though, where Ricciardo is forced to exit with the options not exactly plentiful for 2023. He would have seen the motivation dissipate from former Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel in a similar scenario at Aston Martin. Piastri looked likely to join the Grove team in 2023 on loan from Alpine before this transfer saga began. Would he rather start afresh with a new, albeit slower in the short term, team? But should the Contract Recognition Board rule in Piastri's favour, Ricciardo offers the solace of a hungry known quantity, who on his day is still rapid.

DANIEL RICCIARDO has confirmed he won't be at McLaren in 2023, with Oscar Piastri widely touted as his replacement.

"To start like that with that kind of pressure is not easy. "2022 will be my last year with McLaren," he said, on a video posted on social media. [F1](/sport/f1-autosport) champion has warned Oscar Piastri he's playing a 'dangerous game' after the bizarre saga over the Australian's future took another twist this week.

Former Red Bull Racing driver Daniel Ricciardo is all set to leave McLaren at the end of the 2022 Formula 1 season.

Ricciardo clocked 238 points in his debut season for Red Bull, finishing third and winning three races. He finished eighth in the Drivers' Standings in 2021. Ricciardo is also placed 10th in terms of total career races finished (186). Ricciardo is placed at joint-ninth alongside Jacques Laffite and Jean Alesi in terms of most career podiums (32) without a World Championship. Ricciardo will race for McLaren in the remaining nine races. McLaren also said they will announce the new racing partner for Lando Norris next year "in due course".

McLaren confirmed Formula One's worst kept secret on Wednesday, announcing that the 33-year-old would leave the team following the conclusion of the 2022 ...

Alfa Romeo, Haas and Williams are also options, with the three teams yet to lock in their second drivers for next season. I really do hope that he stays in F1 and proves the doubters wrong. A fourth fan said: 'He won more race than Norris, but this team just adore Lando and give Ricciardo s*** strategies.

McLaren boss Zak Brown says he regrets not making Daniel Ricciardo's contract more watertight so the team wouldn't have to give him a mega payout.

Sitting here now, I can say, ‘I wish I had this in the contract’, but who knows whether he would have agreed to it. “We’ve had to end the relationship early. And Lando’s driving great and getting the car to perform. I think that’s the one learning as more a contractual one, but it’s a big one.” I think what I’ll do next time is maybe have some more performance protections for us and not just assume that a great driver’s going to always be great. Brown said McLaren had high hopes for Ricciardo when he joined the team, but it would have been more prudent to cover themselves and give themselves an out with stipulations in the contract. Year two, it’s a totally different car. Asked if he had any regrets over the Ricciardo saga, Brown admitted if he had his time again, he would have made sure there were “protections” in Ricciardo’s contract that would have allowed McLaren to sack him early without having to pay him out. It’s been two seasons, two different cars. We thought year one, maybe it just didn’t gel with the car. “We had a lot of discussions but in the end we mutually agreed it was the right thing for both of us. “Obviously we put in a lot of effort on both sides but it just hasn’t worked the way we wanted so the team has decided to make a change for next year,” he said in an emotional Instagram post.

Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel has pointedly laid the blame for Daniel Ricciardo's problems at the feet of McLaren.

“I think it’s always good to sit back sometimes and just enjoy the time because, whatever comes next, it will be great. “But sometimes it’s better to just step out of it and try something else, but I don’t know. It’s sad to see that he’s been put in a difficult position, but I wish him all the best. “It’s a very tough place to be in. “But, for us, this is our life. Ricciardo has never really seemed at home with the McLaren cars, despite the complete reset the 2022 regulation changes represented.

Daniel Ricciardo says he only wants to race "competitively" in Formula 1 next season, admitting he is open to taking a year away from the sport if a ...

I don't think there's been reason for them to reach out." "I honestly still don't know what the future holds for Oscar. "This is another challenge, another hurdle," he said. "I was certainly doing everything I could to try and make it work. "But it was just obviously a run that was not really happening and coming together. "I understand. I never said I wanted to be a driver to make up the numbers. But I am very open to what the future may hold, so I'm not going to sit here and shut anything down." "Of course I'm not happy about the situation. F1 is what I love and it's where I see myself, if I'm doing any racing. "At this moment, I'm a free man so to speak." "Obviously it was tough because we made the announcement [joining McLaren[ before racing had even started in that year.

Felipe Massa chats with SI about what fans should keep an eye on heading into the final nine races of the season.

“His second part of the season will be very, very important for his future as a driver. “And yeah, I would say the car I have now is completely not what I want for my driving style, and very unsuited for me. Part of the directive limits using flexi-floors, something Red Bull and Ferrari are rumored to be “exploiting,” per McLaren and Ricciardo announced [they “mutually agreed” for him to leave the team at the end of the 2022 season](https://www.si.com/formula1/2022/08/24/daniel-ricciardo-to-leave-mclaren-at-end-of-f1-2022-season), and there are reportedly no clauses that would prevent him from racing with certain teams. “And then of course there will be a point where we will need to focus more on a driver compared to the other one if the championship position is requiring. There are just 30 points between second-place Ferrari and Mercedes, and Russell is two points ahead of Sainz in the championship standings, resting in fourth. So, it does not mean waiting for the mathematical difference but it means being at the point of the season where you think it is the right thing to do so.” But hopefully as you’ve seen across the season so far, we are incrementally closing that gap down and we have more to come.” Some other races they throw away points because of the strategies, some other races they throw points because of the drivers’ mistake. In the eyes of Massa, Piastri is someone who “deserves to be in Formula One.” The twist on this move: [Team boss Otmar Szafnauer said the “first confirmation”](https://www.si.com/formula1/2022/08/03/alpine-discovered-alonsos-aston-martin-move-from-press-release) he received of Alonso’s move was through Aston Martin’s press release. But, alas, the two-week summer shutdown timer has expired, and now, the Formula One paddock is headed to the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo has revealed he would be open to a return to Alpine next season if they can provide a "competitive" car, admitting he is willing to take a ...

I don't think there's been reason for them to reach out." "I honestly still don't know what the future holds for Oscar. "This is another challenge, another hurdle," he said. "I was certainly doing everything I could to try and make it work. "But it was just obviously a run that was not really happening and coming together. "I understand. I never said I wanted to be a driver to make up the numbers. But I am very open to what the future may hold, so I'm not going to sit here and shut anything down." "Of course I'm not happy about the situation. F1 is what I love and it's where I see myself, if I'm doing any racing. "At this moment, I'm a free man so to speak." "Obviously it was tough because we made the announcement [joining McLaren[ before racing had even started in that year.

Here's how Ricciardo's termination at McLaren could also affect Alpine, Williams, maybe others.

Sargeant is third in the Formula 2 standings and has impressed Williams with his development through 2022, though faces a crucial run of three events in three weekends. While when the decision was made there was no seat at Alpine, he has effectively rejected the company that has got him to this stage, while diving into a McLaren team in which Ricciardo has failed. A door that had previously been slammed shut is now ajar once more for 2023, and his sizeable funding is not a bad carrot to have in his corner. It is also a subtle acknowledgement from McLaren that its quest to return to the front will take longer than anticipated, as it is willing to dispense with an eight-time race winner (albeit one struggling) in order to bring in a rookie. He was open to the idea of taking a sabbatical if the right chance doesn’t align. He never gave up and helped me also to keep the team in a good shape, helped me to keep the team motivated and stay flat-out, in order to not give up. “As a collective, it was ‘how can we still make this work’, I was giving feedback, there was a lot of dialogue, I understood it was a point of concern as the results I was getting were not up to the level we all thought they could have been. But it's all been very amicable, he gets it, and we hope he lands in a good race car next year and we see Daniel back to the form that we know he is capable of. The back-to-back Formula 3 and Formula 2 champion has been an Alpine junior, but has also acted as McLaren’s reserve, which was initially a gesture of goodwill from Alpine. For McLaren, it has put its trust in a driver who, while holding a prolific junior record, has yet to even participate in an FP1 session. In the end, with him joining the team two-and-a-half years ago, with everything he brought to the team as well, with all of his experience also, it definitely helped us a lot to become in the end, a better team. This in the end led us to the decision.

The driver, who had just one win for McLaren as he struggled with the car, will continue racing for the team until the end of this season.

I still have that fire in me, that belief in my belly that I can do this at the highest level. “Daniel has said several times he never felt comfortable with our car, especially when it was about pushing it to the absolute limit,” Seidl said. is going to be something we never forget, so there’s a tremendous amount of positive influence Daniel had on our team.” This led us to the decision.” Stories like this are possible because of our deep commitment to original reporting, produced by a global staff of over 1,700 journalists who have all dedicated themselves to helping you understand the world. Ricciardo will leave after the remaining nine races of this season.

Ricciardo's former Red Bull teammate, Sebastian Vettel, said McLaren did not get the best out of Ricciardo. Back on duty for his British team before the Belgian ...

I've never said I just want to be a driver to make up the numbers. "Sometimes you just have to accept 'I tried but it didn't work out'. "But let's say the stars don't align and it doesn't make perfect sense next year.

Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he could walk away from Formula 1 if the right opportunity doesn't present itself after his sacking from McLaren.

But of course if it’s the right opportunity this is where I want to be." "I never wanted to be a driver to just make up the numbers, if I’m here I want to be here for a purpose. The Australian has found himself in a driver merry-go-round, which could see fellow countryman Oscar Piastri take his seat in 2023.

Back on duty for his British team before the Belgian Grand Prix on Thursday less than 24 hours since they announced their split at the end of this season, ...

“I don’t know the details, but I guess McLaren failed to extract the potential that he has. So it’s difficult when people start to have this expectation that it’s my job to also start doing these other things and helping and describing this and doing that. If I’m here, I want to be here for a purpose. I’ve never said I just want to be a driver to make up the numbers. “It’s obviously not like the nicest feeling but I look back on it and I can hold my head up high in terms of applying myself and trying to make make it work,” he said. “But let’s say the stars don’t align and it doesn’t make perfect sense next year.

The CEO of McLaren says his biggest regret about signing Ricciardo is not having a better contract in place. Meanwhile, the Aussie's teammate says he has no ...

'I think what I'll do next time is maybe have some more performance protections for us and not just assume that a great driver's going to always be great. 'I've just got to focus on my driving and my job. Meanwhile, Ricciardo's McLaren teammate Lando Norris - who has comprehensively outperformed him since his arrival in 2021 - offered a brutal take on the Aussie's sacking. Brown said his only regrets were that there were no 'protections' in Ricciardo's contract that would have made it easier for the Formula One team to sack him early without having to pay him out. 'We've had to write a BIG cheque, that's the big learning': McLaren boss Zak Brown reveals his regret over Daniel Ricciardo's contract, as Lando Norris gives his BRUTAL take on his team-mate's sacking On Thursday, Brown said McLaren had no choice but to dump the struggling Aussie, claiming his poor performances on meant they had to rip up his contract a year before it was due to expire.

McLaren F1 Daniel Ricciardo: McLaren & Daniel Ricciardo Contract break-up, reasons, new driver, stats, Formula 1 Belgian GP: Daniel Ricciardo McLaren ...

For McLaren, Gasly is a young charger who could have the capability to match Lando Norris blow for blow and push the team forward, something Daniel Ricciardo has been unable to do in his stint at McLaren. McLaren F1 Daniel Ricciardo – Daniel Ricciardo McLaren Contract: Daniel Ricciardo’s spell at McLaren came to an unexpected end when he announced his departure at the end of the season. Pierre Gasly could not do much with the opportunity he had at Red Bull in 2019 (when he was dumped back at Toro Rosso within half a season) but ever since, his performances at AlphaTauri have been a revelation. Another reason for Ricciardo’s departure is the form of Lando Norris, with whom he joined McLaren. He has only accumulated 19 points in 13 races so far, which is an indicator of his lack of confidence at the moment. Ricciardo never got going with the engines of McLaren as he struggled for form.