McLaren axing Daniel Ricciardo to bring in 2021 F2 Champion Oscar Piastri to the team has been the biggest news in F1 lately.
Ricciardo’s move to McLaren has turned out to be a nightmare. What people thought would be a dream pairing with Lando Norris has been a complete dominance on Norris’ part.
Besides his one win in Monza last season, Norris has completely outperformed Ricciardo. This has led to the Woking-based outfit’s bold decision on Ricciardo’s future.
Piastri will reportedly replace the Aussie at the end of this season. It’s a move that has gained a lot of interest, particularly after the latter announced he would not be driving for Alpine next year.
Despite Ricciardo’s poor performance, many people feel that McLaren is only using him as a scapegoat to cover for bigger problems within the team.
Also read: F1 Twitter bashes McLaren for disrespectfully sacking multiple drivers over time
Daniel Ricciardo merchandise ‘almost gone’ from the F1 store
Ricciardo is one of the most marketable drivers in F1. He brings in a lot of new fans to the teams, and the sponsor money comes with it. This is crucial for teams in this cash-dependent sport.
As a result, Ricciardo’s presence in any outfit is a huge commercial benefit for them. However, it seems as though his McLaren merchandise in F1’s official store is ‘almost gone’.
This was shared on social media, and fans had mixed reactions to it. Some people saw it as a joke because if rumours stand as it is now, the honey badger does not have an F1 seat for next year. Others, however see it in poor taste and have labelled this as ‘being blown out of proportion’.
McLaren has taken a huge step back in terms of performance this year. They were going toe to toe with Ferrari for P3 last season. While the Scuderia have gone on to compete for race wins and the Title, McLaren is locked in a battle for fourth against Alpine.
