What Happened Between Ricciardo and McLaren and What the Future Holds for Him

The long saga between Ricciardo and McLaren is finally ending; honestly, we expected that. The Australian had a terrible 2022 season, grabbing only 19 points, and comparing that with Lando (who has 76 points), the difference is enormous. McLaren didn't announce any replacement, although current Alpine reserve driver Oscar Piastri is expected to land that seat on the British team. Of course, only if the FIA's contract recognition board clears him that McLaren, rather than Alpine, has a valid and official 2023 contract with the F2 champion.

So, how did this departure between Ricciardo and the British team come? After all, Ricciardo won the first race for McLaren since 2012, when Jenson Button won the Brazilian Grand Prix. In the beginning, the Australian driver was a significant signing in 2021, joining on a three-year deal as the leader of the squad, alongside rising star Lando Norris. Unfortunately, since that win in Monza, Ricciardo was not even close to that form, struggling extensively in 2022, being consistently outperformed by Lando.

At the start of the season, everyone rejected the idea of a possible replacement for Daniel because he had one more year in his contract. However, at some point, Zak Brown (CEO of McLaren Racing) revealed some ways in the contract by which the deal could be ended early.

Still, in the summer, the Australian insisted on social media that he would not walk away. At that point, it was clear that the only option for McLaren was to pay him enough to agree on a mutual early termination. Basically, the same principles as the Ferrari-Kimi Raikkonen deal from 2010, when the Finnish driver was given a lot of money to leave the team in order to make room for Alonso.

It is rumored that McLaren has informed Ricciardo he was no longer part of its plans for 2023 in Hungary, where the team is believed to have agreed on a deal with Oscar Piastri as well. From that moment, the British squad negotiated Daniel's exit, from how much they would pay him to whether they could use him in competitions like Formula E or IndyCar.

"It's been a privilege to be a part of the McLaren Racing family for the last two seasons but following several months of discussions with Zak & Andreas we have decided to terminate my contract with the team early and agree to mutually part ways at the end of this season," declared Daniel Ricciardo. "I've enjoyed working with everyone at McLaren both trackside and back in Woking and will be giving my all on and off track as we enjoy the remainder of the season together."

Throughout Ricciardo's struggles during 2021, the theory was that it was mainly an accommodation issue. He just needed time to make the adjustments required to drive a McLaren with unnatural traits compared to Red Bull and Renault cars. As you can see, this hasn't happened, but why? How could a driver of that caliber suddenly find himself so low?

The explanation could be quite simple and be all about the driving style. With his late braking, Ricciardo is an aggressive driver who enters slow and mid-speed corners faster than anyone else. Unfortunately, the McLaren car is all but not that, and it's best suited for Lando's driving style.

The best option for Ricciardo to stay in F1 and remain competitive is to join Alpine. However, the French team thinks it still has a case to make to keep Piastri from leaving. In addition, Ricciardo is quite of a gamble now. We know that he was part of Renault (now Alpine) in 2019 and 2020, but back then, he was probably the most wanted driver on the market. Four years later, his stock is considerably lower, but he remains the best of a limited number of alternatives on paper.

Hopefully, Ricciardo will stay in Formula One for another couple of years because he is still one of the best drivers on the grid in the right car. Also, he is pretty funny, and the paddock needs guys like him.