Everything seems to indicate that Daniel Ricciardo will leave McLaren at the end of the 2022 season, since the team is trying to reach an agreement to end his contract early, after having signed Oscar Piastri and Alex Palou in the last weeks.
This would end two difficult seasons for Ricciardo at McLaren in the bud, where despite taking the team’s first win in almost nine years, he has suffered much more than expected to match or come close to Lando Norris’ performance.
The Woking team has been clear about its long-term plan to return to the top of Formula 1, investing in new facilities, including a wind tunnel.
Speaking to Motorsport.com ahead of the summer break and before McLaren’s plans became known, Riccardo pointed out that while long-term projects take time to build, things can also change very quickly, putting McLaren’s driver Red Bull, Sergio Pérez, as an example.
“I said it when I was 27 years old, ‘ah, I’m getting older!’ In a way it’s a reality, I’m getting older, but I think that has also helped me to know more about the category, and now I know what to achieve. goals take time,” said the Australian from McLaren .
“We all believe that we can win. So it’s like, well, I want to win now, but that can’t always be the case. Even right now, talking about 2024 or 2025, in a way it’s very difficult to think with your eyes so far away.” .
“There are also examples like Pérez , his career seemed to be coming to an end and now he is fighting for a world championship. The sport can change very quickly,” he added.
The Mexican was on the verge of losing his place on the F1 grid at the end of the 2020 season after Racing Point activated a clause to break his contract in order to hire Sebastian Vettel as his replacement.
The decision paved the way for Pérez to end up at Red Bull , a team with which he has since won two races and currently sits third in the drivers’ championship, enjoying his best season yet at the Grand Circus.
When his future was in the air, the one from Guadalajara was always very clear that he would only continue if he got a competitive seat, and he recently explained how his signing for the energy drinks team was key to extending his sports career.
“If I were in a project that doesn’t excite me at all, maybe the price to pay to be a Formula 1 driver isn’t worth it,” said Pérez , who has since signed a two-year extension that will keep him at Red Bull until at least the end of 2024.
“Luckily, I’m in a different situation,” he concluded.
Although his departure from McLaren is not yet confirmed, it is assumed that Ricciardo is already ready to explore other options that will allow him to continue on the F1 grid in 2023.
One option for Ricciardo seems to be to return to Alpine, the team he raced for when they were still working under the Renault name during 2019 and 2020, before joining Woking.
