Ricciardo’s long-term future at the Woking outfit had been called into question after Zak Brown commented last week that the Australian driver’s results had not lived up to expectations.
Ricciardo accepted that his time at McLaren had not given the results that neither he nor his bosses would have wanted, but in the run-up to the Monaco GP he made it clear that he had a three-year contract and that he hoped to fulfill them, until the end of 2023.
However, speaking ahead of a visit to the 2022 Indianapolis 500, Brown suggested that McLaren’s contract with Ricciardo was not entirely final.
Although Daniel Ricciardo is halfway through a three-year deal, he suggested there were break clauses that could open the door to a split if things didn’t improve.
Asked if there was an exit clause for the driver or the team if they didn’t want to continue together until 2023, Brown said: “I don’t want to go into the details of the contract, but there are mechanisms where we are committed to each other, and mechanisms where we’re not.”
“I spoke to Daniel about it. We’re not getting the results we both hoped for, but we’re both going to keep pushing.”
“I think he showed at Monza [last year] that he can win races. We also need to develop our car, because right now it’s not a car that can win. But we would like to see him further up the grid.”
“And we’ll see how things develop and what he wants to do. Also, our testing program is ramping up, but we’re not in a hurry.”
Ricciardo’s future beyond 2023 already seemed to hinge on the progress of McLaren’s IndyCar youngsters, with Pato O’Ward looking the prime candidate if the team decided to go with a rookie. This Friday, Arrow McLaren SP announced that O’Ward had renewed his contract with the team for at least three more years.
It may seem too early for the Mexican to replace Ricciardo in 2023, although he will contest his first free practice session already this season.
“We have both of our test drivers under contract,” Brown said. “Pato is going to be one of them. He did a very good job in Abu Dhabi [in the young driver test] last year.”
“The IndyCar schedule is very tight, as you know, but at the end of the year it won’t be surprising to see him in one of the cars.”
O’Ward believes he has another two or three years to get to F1 before he is too old (age-wise) to switch.
“I think the deadline is there because of age,” he said. “Once you’re 25 or 26, that window closes quite a bit. So obviously if that opportunity comes up, you take it, right?”
“My dream of becoming a racing driver was focused on Formula 1. That’s something that will never go away. It’s a part of me. It’s what opened my heart to such a different world.”
