Daniel Ricciardo admitted that he wasn’t good enough after going through another disappointing qualifying at COTA on Saturday.
Ricciardo’s 2022 season has arguably been the most difficult of his career so far. He has struggled even more this year than he did in 2021 with McLaren and the gap between him and Lando Norris and larger than ever.
McLaren decided to pull the plug on Ricciardo’s stay even though he is contracted to be in Woking until 2023. He will leave the outfit at the end of this season, and his young compatriot Oscar Piastri will replace him. Ricciardo’s future in F1 was up in the air but he cleared it earlier this month when he confirmed that he won’t be in the sport next season.
He wanted to leave the sport on a high for now, but his poor form behind the wheel of MCL36 continued at the US Grand Prix. Norris will start the race from sixth on the grid after getting outperformed by Lance Stroll in Q3. Ricciardo meanwhile, will start 10 places behind his young teammate! This may prove to be a disaster for McLaren in their battle with Alpine if Ricciardo isn’t able to make up places tomorrow.
Daniel Ricciardo frustrated of his own failures at COTA
After qualifying, Ricciardo did not make any excuses about his poor performance. He owned up to the fact he simply wasn’t good enough, and almost spun multiple times during his Q1 run.
“I knew when I crossed the line,” the 33-year-old said. “That I wasn’t good enough. I nearly spun more than once. Obviously when quali comes and you try and lean on the car and that’s just not given me want I want.”
Also read: Watch as Daniel Ricciardo hilariously confuses Alex Palou for Alex Albon during the US Grand Prix
Ricciardo may make shocking Red Bull return in 2023
Ricciardo left Red Bull in 2019 to join Renault, and his career hasn’t been the same since. Now that we know he won’t be racing full time in 2023, fans are wondering what he’ll be up to.
As of now, most rumors are linking him to a reserve role for Mercedes. The Silver Arrows are looking for a new driver to fill the spot which until recently was occupied by Nyck de Vries. However, according to F1 pundit Ted Kravitz, the honey badger may move to Red Bull.
Red Bull obviously don’t have an empty seat, but they could use someone to fill that reserve role. Ricciardo may choose to return to his old team and wait for any opportunities in the near future.
