McLaren would like to replace Ricciardo for the upcoming season
McLaren would have informed Daniel Ricciardo of their intention to replace him with Oscar Piastri next season. However, the Honey Badger would like to continue in Formula 1 next season. He does not seem at all interested in his current team's Formula E program.
McLaren apparently signed Oscar Piastri. Initially as a reserve driver for 2023, and then to replace Ricciardo whose contract expires at the end of the 2023 season. This is at least what Motorsport reveals. The British team even wishes to make Piastri a full-time driver alongside Lando Norris as early as next season. To achieve this, they would need to find a way to terminate the contract of the Australian.
Daniel Ricciardo has a current contract until 2023, which he signed at the beginning of 2020 while he was still with Renault. McLaren and their driver now need to have discussions to negotiate a contract termination in order to let him leave before the end of the season.
According to rumors, the former Renault and Red Bull driver has no intention of going to Formula E and seems determined to find another seat in F1 for next season.
Despite Alpine’s announcement regarding Piastri’s arrival, which he denies, McLaren seems confident about the coming of the F3 and F2 champion. Why are they so confident? In reality, Oscar Piastri’s contract is said to have ended on July 31st, the day before Fernando Alonso’s departure announcement at Aston Martin.
The British team would have considered the Piastri option to replace Ricciardo a few weeks ago already. Moreover, McLaren’s manager, Andreas Seidl, is close to a certain Mark Webber, who manages the career of the young Australian driver. Seidl and Webber have already worked together before, at Porsche in the endurance championship.
On Daniel Ricciardo’s side, he now appears as a more than credible candidate to replace Fernando Alonso, thus making his return to the French team, despite his choice to leave Renault for a competitor a few years ago. Haas could also be another possibility for the Honey Badger in case Mick Schumacher were to leave, but that doesn’t seem to be on the agenda.
Considering the amount of money required to fulfill Ricciardo’s initial agreement, one scenario is that even in the event of him leaving, he could still end up being paid by McLaren not to race for the team in 2023.
