Daniel Ricciardo admitted that he wants to take time away from F1 at the end of the current season, but wants it to be clear and sorted out before the Abu Dhabi GP.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Ricciardo would not continue with his McLaren stint after the current campaign. His performances with the Woking-based outfit have been subpar since joining in 2021. As a result, McLaren pulled the plug early and decided to ax the Aussie, even though he had a year left on his contract.
Ricciardo’s young compatriot Oscar Piastri will replace him at McLaren. As for Ricciardo, he admitted that he does not have a chance of remaining in the F1 grid in 2023. The 32-year-old’s most realistic option right now would be to sign up as a reserve driver for one of the teams.
BREAKING: Daniel Ricciardo will leave McLaren at the end of the 2022 season#F1 pic.twitter.com/4T48cDiFN8
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 24, 2022
So far, he has been linked to Mercedes and Red Bull’s reserve roles. However, nothing clear about his 2023 season has been revealed up until now. This is something Ricciardo wants to sort out before the season finale in Abu Dhabi next month.
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Daniel Ricciardo wants to spend some time away from F1
The last two years have been incredibly difficult for Ricciardo. His move to McLaren promised huge dividends, but he ended up getting comprehensively beaten by Lando Norris both years. Now that he is leaving them at the end of 2022, he wants to take time before deciding his next move.
Ricciardo previously stated that he won’t be in F1 just for the sake of it and wants to join a team that competes at the front. That will be difficult since most of the bigger teams have drivers on multi-year contracts right now. This is why the Perth-born driver wants to stay away from the sport. However, he does want to stay touch with what is happening.
‘@danielricciardo has admitted that he’s given up on getting an F1 seat in 2023, and will instead pursue his plan to focus on 2024: https://t.co/9CwQ6McXh2
— Adam Cooper (@adamcooperF1) October 8, 2022
“There are still a few things in the air,” he said in an interview with the Daily Mail. “But as time has gone on it has become clearer. I do want a little distance from the sport, though I do want to stay in touch.”
Where will Ricciardo be in 2023?
Earlier this season, some rumors suggested that Ricciardo would compete in other racing ventures. That, however, was not the case. The former Red Bull driver insisted that his dream of succeeding in F1 remained stronger than ever. Now that a seat for 2023 isn’t possible, he will put all his focus on returning in 2024 with a bang.
The most likely destination for the 8 GP winner as of now looks like Mercedes or Red Bull. However, if he does stay in F1, it will only be as a reserve driver. Whatever the case is, everyone in the F1 community would love to see the honey badger back as soon as possible.
