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“Jumping into race seat was not right thing for me”: Daniel Ricciardo on why he left $5 million in 2023

Tanish Chachra
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"Jumping into race seat was not right thing for me": Daniel Ricciardo on why he left $5 million in 2023

Daniel Ricciardo, during the 2022 season, was informed by McLaren that they won’t be continuing with him for 2023. Despite having a year left in his contract, the Australian didn’t consider opposing the decision.

He even took a massive cut from McLaren in the payout and took home only $10 million from the $15 million salary he was supposed to get in the final year.

After that, he wasn’t even keen on getting a new seat, even though teams like Haas and Williams openly showed interest. So why did Ricciardo leave $5 million, a considerable amount even for him and a racing spot in F1 in 2023?

Also read: Esteban Ocon exposes difficulties in working with 2-time World Champion after his Alpine exit

Daniel Ricciardo claims it wasn’t right

In the upcoming podcast by the In the fast lane trailer, as the episode will be released on Wednesday, Ricciardo discussed his decision not to chase any seat for the 2023 season.

“I know next year to jump into a race seat isn’t the right thing for me,” said Ricciardo. However, Ricciardo still wants to be within the realm of F1. Thus, he was listening to offers for a reserve driver role.

In this situation, Red Bull offered him the third driver spot. The 33-year-old driver claims that this deal allows him to take the break he wants from F1 and stay in touch with the sport.

He also adds that Red Bull was constantly on his mind and had no hesitation in returning when they opened their doors. Reportedly, even Mercedes reached Ricciardo for a reserve-driver role, but they were quickly snubbed when Red Bull entered the picture.

The 2024 return

Ricciardo, in different interviews, has admitted that he would want to return to F1 in 2024. So, everything he’ll work on next year will be around his comeback. Though, which team is still a question.

His association with Red Bull and Sergio Perez’s alleged friction with Max Verstappen could, out of nowhere, grant him the second seat if Red Bull is forced to axe the Mexican from the team even though his contract runs till the 2024 season end.

However, when asked about such a possibility, as per the Race, Horner replied that Red Bull has no reason to disassociate with Perez. Thus, they will be honouring their contract with him.

Also read: $1.7 Billion Net Worth Hong Kong-based Entrepreneur who idolised Michael Schumacher keen on entering F1 with new team

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra

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Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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