McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo might not get another chance in Formula 1 as he stands on the verge of losing his current contract.
Following the Oscar Piastri-Alpine chaos, several F1 experts believed that if Piastri were to sign a deal with McLaren for the 2023 season Daniel Ricciardo would move to Alpine as a replacement for Fernando Alonso.
However, Ralf Schumacher does not see it as a possibility. Speaking with Sky Sports Germany, Schumacher said, “Personally, I can’t imagine him getting another chance in Formula 1.”
Ricciardo is having a hard time delivering performance on the track. The Honey-badger joined the McLaren F1 team alongside Lando Norris in the 2021 season.
In 2021, Ricciardo faced trouble adjusting to the car. Due to this, he constantly failed to match Norris’ level of performance on the track.
While the Australian won the 2021 Italian GP, Ricciardo still finished the 2021 season at P8 as Norris stood at P6.
The same downwards trend in Ricciardo’s performance is visible in the 2022 season. Following this, the criticism, talks of his retirement, McLaren sacking him etc have flooded the F1 community.
Also Read: Why McLaren prefers to pay off $21 Million to Daniel Ricciardo than keep him for 2023 season
Daniel Ricciardo wants $21 Million as a payout from McLaren
Apart from Ricciardo, Schumacher sees two other contenders for the Alpine seat in 2023. Mick [Schumacher] has not signed a contract yet, so he is a candidate. Nico Hulkenberg is also ready to go,” the former F1 driver continued. “But I wouldn’t know who Alpine should choose at the moment.”
Following Alonso’s move to Aston Martin for the vacant Sebastian Vettel seat in 2023, Alpine had announced that their reserve driver Piastri would take the seat next to Ocon next season.
But soon Piastri denied the claim made by the French team. It was later revealed that the young Australian has made a deal with McLaren.
However, Alpine does not want to let go of Piastri yet. Team owner Otmar Szafnauer even said has said he is prepared to take legal action.
Moreover, Ricciardo still has a contract with McLaren until the end of the 2023 season. A clause in his contract requires the McLaren team to pay the Honey-badger if the team wants to sack him before the termination of his contract.
As per reports, it was revealed that Ricciardo had asked for $21 Million in form of payout money from his current team.
Also Read: $21 million McLaren seat was offered to multiple drivers including Oscar Piastri at same time
