The Contract Recognition Board agreed with McLaren in the Piastri case and revealed that the agreement between the Australian and the team was closed the day after the British Grand Prix.
That prompted a great deal of speculation about whether Daniel Ricciardo had been misled in the first place, as he made a statement on social media on July 13 expressing how motivated he was to earn his McLaren continuity going forward.
“I am committed to McLaren until the end of next year and I don’t want to leave,” he said.
However, over the summer break, Ricciardo and McLaren mutually agreed to end their relationship after this season, opening the door for Oscar Piastri.
Statements from the Australian veteran on social media suggest he might not have been aware of what the team was planning internally, with the Woking squad having clearly signed Piastri to a contract as the starting driver for 2023.
However, he could also have been aware of what was going on and the statement could have been made simply to reinforce his contractual situation and strengthen his negotiating position.
Responding to a question from Motorsport.com as to whether, during the interval between Piastri’s signing and Ricciardo’s statement, McLaren informed its current driver of the real situation, team principal Andreas Seidl assured that there had been no ” no problem”.
“Yes, obviously, we didn’t go into detail about the contract we signed with Oscar,” he said.
“But with Daniel, as we said last week, I think throughout the year, Zak and I, along with him, have had a lot of transparent conversations throughout to explain where each of us was. There’s no problem with that.”
Speaking to Sky on Friday afternoon, Ricciardo said he was not aware that Piastri had signed a contract with McLaren on July 4, but acknowledged that they were already talking openly about his situation at the time.
“As for the date, it’s the first time I’ve heard it,” he admitted. “I’m not aware of the timelines and this and that, what the team is discussing.”
“To be honest let’s say that before that date, more than a month ago, we were already discussing my… no, not my future, but of course what we could improve to try to have a better future with the team” .
“I’m aware that there was going to be talks going on. So in terms of timelines, yeah, I guess what the team did, say, set up Oscar’s arrival, that’s also none of my business as to what day they talked about. and this or that”.
“If it was, then so be it. It really wasn’t my decision,” he concluded.
