Daniel Ricciardo joined McLaren in 2021 in a move that was promising on paper. A partnership with the talented Lando Norris with a team poised to challenge for wins in the near future was expected to be a career revival for Ricciardo after he spent two years in the midfield with Renault.
Unfortunately, Ricciardo never got up to speed in McLaren. His performances were consistently poor by his and the team’s standards, and earlier this year it was revealed that Ricciardo would leave at the end of the season. Ricciardo’s sacking comes despite having a year left on his contract.
Next season will be the first since 2010 that we won’t see Ricciardo on the grid. He’s one of the most popular drivers and his absence is one that will surely be felt throughout the community. He is expected to stay in touch with F1 as he plans on returning in 2024. As of now, it’s most likely that he will take up a reserve role and remain in the paddock. Away from the track, however, he has other plans on how to spend the upcoming campaign.
Daniel Ricciardo to start his own photography page inspired by Lando Norris
Just like Ricciardo, Norris has also become hugely popular among fans in his very short F1 career so far. The young Brit started a photography page on Instagram earlier this year, where he posts various snippets taken by him.
View this post on Instagram
Ricciardo recently started a similar page and thanked Norris for inspiring him to do so. “Thank you lando.jpg for this one he’s such a trendsetter,” the honey badger wrote on his Instagram bio.
Ricciardo has not given up on his F1 dream
Ricciardo may not be in F1 as a full time driver next season. However, that doesn’t mean that he’s planning on giving up. The 33-year-old has repeatedly stated that he plans on returning the sport as soon as a good opportunity opens up.
“I want to take the time necessary and rebuild myself,” he said to F1.com. “If something makes sense in 2024, I’ll come back with a vengeance.”
Daniel Ricciardo says he won’t be on the 2023 #F1 grid and is looking now at 2024 prospects. No great surprise, given paucity of options, but still a shame. #JapaneseGP
— Phillip Horton (@PHortonF1) October 8, 2022
Ricciardo has been heavily linked to the reserve roles of Mercedes and Red Bull.. A lot of fans are hoping that he sticks around with either of these teams in hopes that an opportunity opens up in two years time.
One thing is for sure, fans will be kept updated about his whereabouts throughout 2023 as he posts pictures on his new Instagram account!