Daniel Ricciardo has been one of the most popular F1 drivers for a long time now. However, his tenure with McLaren wasn’t impressive enough to endow him with a positive image among the fans. After leaving Renault, the Honey Badger signed a two-year contract with the Woking-based squad worth $15 million. Although his contract still had a year left, the team opted to part ways with him owing to two years of disappointment at McLaren. Now, however, as per planet F1, Ricciardo thanks McLaren for firing him at the right time.
Even though Ricciardo won a race for McLaren in Monza, a young Lando Norris outperformed him in the long run. In his first year at Mclaren, the Australian scored 115 points overall against Norris’ 160 points. However, in the second season, Ricciardo scored just 37 points for McLaren out of a possible 275, which was a complete letdown.
After losing his McLaren seat, Ricciardo wanted to spend his time away from F1 to recharge his batteries. For that, he took an 8-month break from the sport before joining AlphaTauri.
A much-anticipated return by Daniel Ricciardo
The return of Daniel Ricciardo significantly improved the Faenza-based team, which had been faltering due to Nyck de Vries’ frequent pointless finishes. Though Ricciardo has contributed no points to the team, he did bring some competitive driving to the outfit. The Perth-born driver pushed his teammate Yuki Tsunoda during the race and even out-qualified him at the Hungarian GP.
Looking back on his time with McLaren, however, Ricciardo insisted that he had no regrets. As reported by Planet F1, he also states that he is thankful for McLaren firing him because of his horrid results. Ricciardo went as far as calling it a “blessing in disguise”.
Still, now, Ricciardo is at AlphaTauri, and is determined to get back to Red Bull sometime in the near future. Unfortunately, for now, he is out of action with a wrist injury he suffered during FP2 in Zandvoort last month.
Daniel Ricciardo’s ultimate goal
Despite the injury, Red Bull has shown their faith in Ricciardo. Along with Yuki Tsunoda, the squad has extended the contract of the honey badger for another year. This could aid Daniel Ricciardo in achieving his fairytale ambition of sitting next to Max Verstappen in 2025.
Given that Sergio Perez’s contract is set to expire in 2024, Red Bull could consider Ricciardo as a viable option. However, for that to happen, he will need to audition alongside a few other promising talents who have impressed the Austrian outfit. Liam Lawson, for one, has been incredible as Ricciardo’s replacement.
Compared to Ricciardo, Lawson has been better statistically. While the rookie had a spectacular debut collecting crucial two points at Singapore GP, the 34-year-old is yet to score any points. Although Ricciardo has set his sights on making a comeback at the Qatar Grand Prix, the Red Bull team boss remains of the opinion that the veteran driver needs a little more time to unwind.
