Daniel Ricciardo lost out on his McLaren seat and a place in F1 at the end of the 2022 season when Zak Brown decided to cut his three-year deal short. It seems as though Ricciardo’s fans haven’t forgiven the McLaren CEO for letting go of one of the favorites in the sport.
In a video posted by The Red Flags Podcast on Instagram, a person goes over to fans at the Miami International Autodrome, asking them if they would “smash or pass” Brown. As per the clip, the overwhelming majority of fans don’t want anything to do with Brown.
Every single person justified their hatred of Brown by talking about how Ricciardo was treated at McLaren. “He did my boy Riccy wrong, and I will not be smashing that,” a woman said.
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There was another man, who took his hatred to the next level, as he said, “We do hate him. If I could like, smash and then fake him out and then make him miserable and pass, I would do that.”
Was Zak Brown right in letting Daniel Ricciardo go?
Brown’s decision of sacking Ricciardo was well documented in the latest season of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, and that is most likely the origin of the hatred towards the McLaren boss. These fans feel that Ricciardo wasn’t being treated well at McLaren, and Brown was to blame for how he suffered in Surrey for two years.
From Brown’s point of view, however, he had to sack Ricciardo to ensure a stable driver pairing. Ricciardo’s teammate at McLaren for two years, Lando Norris, was at the top of his game and comprehensively outperformed the Aussie on all fronts.
McLaren have told Daniel Ricciardo they intend to replace him with Oscar Piastri next season, a source has confirmed to ESPN.
✍️ Full story from @natesaundersF1: https://t.co/QQZDLc34hd pic.twitter.com/NRO9txVVU6
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) August 5, 2022
Most of the slandering Brown had thrown at him was down to Ricciardo’s popularity because in terms of performance, it was evident that a change was needed at McLaren.
Ricciardo to drive for Red Bull in 2023
After losing out on his seat at the end of the 2022 season, Ricciardo returned to Red Bull as a third-driver behind Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. The honey badger’s main job is to help the team behind the scenes, and to be a poster boy in their marketing activities.
However, as team boss Christian Horner promised, he will get his moment in the sun. The 33-year-old will be a part of the Pirelli tyre test at the British GP weekend in Silverstone later this year where he will drive the RB-19.
Ricciardo admitted to enjoying being away from the limelight in 2023, but it seems as though he will be at the center stage, momentarily once again later this year.
