When it was announced midway through last season that Daniel Ricciardo would not continue with McLaren in 2023, fans were left wondering where the 33-year-old would end up.
The Australian has returned to Red Bull to serve as the team’s third driver, taking part in simulator work and promotional tasks to keep himself relevant and sharp ahead of a potential return to the grid in 2024.
Haas were very interested in bringing the Australian to Haas to replace the inconsistent Mick Schumacher for 2023, as was revealed by team principal Guenther Steiner last year.
It was believed that Ricciardo rejected the chance to join the team and remain on the grid, as he simply could not see himself adapting to life battling towards the back of the grid, such is his winning racing pedigree.
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Netflix’s Drive to Survive Season 5 will cover the Ricciardo saga, and it has revealed that Ricciardo did in fact not reject Haas, it was very much the other way around.
In episode five, titled ‘Like Father Like Son,’ the candidates to replace Schumacher at Haas are discussed, with current driver Kevin Magnussen very keen to having Daniel Ricciardo as his partner for 2023.
In a conversation with Guenther Steiner, the team boss reveals that the 33-year-old is simply too expensive for the team to sign, such are his very high contact demands.
“We can’t afford him Kevin,” says Steiner when asked about the possibility of signing Ricciardo by the Dane.
“He wants 10 f*cking million. Minimum!”
Interestingly, Magnussen then fires back by asking his boss “what about the Hulk?” Hinting that is was the Dane who was pushing to have Hulkenberg as his teammate.
This is a surprising revelation considering the fact that Magnussen and Hulkenberg shared a strong dislike for each other when the German was racing for Renault.
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The pair came to blows many times, making it almost inconceivable that Magnussen and Hulkenberg would ever become teammates in the future.
Having matured significantly since their childish feud, both drivers have expressed their confidence in sharing a respectful and successful relationship at Haas, as the team look to move up into the top end of the midfield this year.
With Ricciardo pricing himself out of a move to Haas, the Australian will hope that he attracts some interest ahead of the 2024 season, with the 33-year-old clearly having no intention to retire just yet.