Heading into the 2023 season, fan favourite driver Daniel Ricciardo will unfortunately not be on the grid, following his release from McLaren.
The 33-year-old signed for the Woking based team ahead of the 2021 season but unfortunately other than a shock win in Monza, Ricciardo’s time with McLaren has been underwhelming.
The Australian has been consistently outperformed by his young teammate Lando Norris, struggling to keep pace with the Brit in the majority of the races they have both taken part in.
With Ricciardo showing no signs of improving, McLaren have decided to replace the 33-year-old with his younger countryman Oscar Piastri.
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This deal was reportedly signed behind closed doors, with Ricciardo still believing that he was fighting for his seat while his replaced had already signed a contract behind his back.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has firmly denied these claims, suggesting that the reports have got the timings wrong.
“We were transparent through the whole process and I know there had been tonnes of media speculation when it happened, how it happened,” said Brown.
“Daniel and I know what really happened and I think that’s why we still very much have a strong relationship.
“It was all transparent, well-communicated and there’s time we can tell people what’s going on and then there’s other times we just can’t.”
Despite what Brown is suggesting, the upcoming season of Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’ has revealed that Ricciardo was warned about working with the American prior to signing with McLaren.
Ricciardo’s boss at Renault, Cyril Abiteboul, is spotted in the series speaking to Ricciardo ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, telling the 33-year-old, “I told you not to trust Zak.”
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The eight-time Grand Prix winner spend two years working under Abiteboul at Renault before making the controversial move to McLaren, something which he may now regret.
Following his release from McLaren, Ricciardo has returned to Red Bull to serve as the team’s third driver, with the aim of returning to the grid with a top team in 2024.
With not many openings at the top team’s set to be available to the Australian in the near future, it is currently unclear exactly what the future may hold for Daniel Ricciardo.