According to rumours, by ending Daniel Ricciardo’s contract at the end of the 2022 season, the team will have enough funds to secure Oscar Piastri’s services.
Daniel Ricciardo’s time with McLaren will end with the 2022 season. The Aussie’s contract with the British racing outfit has been terminated a year earlier instead of the 2023 expiry date.
Ricciardo is McLaren’s last race winner. He won the 2021 Italian GP, the team’s first win since 2012. But in the current season, Ricciardo has managed to score in just 5 of the 14 races until the 2022 Belgian GP.
He was unsettled in the MCL 36 which did not suit his driving style And a string of poor performances resulted in McLaren choosing to axe the 8 GP-winning drivers.
Ricciardo was on a $16 Million season wager. And Daniel received compensation for the early termination of his contract.
But F1 journalist Joe Saward revealed in his blog that McLaren has made a hefty profit. This leaves the team with enough improvements to make line-up changes for the coming season and sign Piastri.
Saward wrote, “The team was due to pay Daniel $16 million in 2023 but the whisper in the paddock was that a settlement was reached at $10 million.” He added, “it does mean that McLaren will have $6 million more to spend on driver budgets.”
He further added, “Piastri will be cheaper than that. And so there might even be some cash left over to sort out the mess in Indycar where the team has a problem securing the services of Alex Palou.”
McLaren is set to sign former Alpine driver and reigning F2 champion Oscar Piastri as Ricciardo’s replacement. The Contract recognition board are currently hearing a case regarding the 21-year-old’s future.
Alpine want to recoup the amount invested in developing Piastri. The French team will seek a huge sum if the young Aussie wishes to drive elsewhere. This means McLaren might have to fork out a portion of the Million dollar settlement.
Also Read: Lando Norris hits out at Daniel Ricciardo amidst his $16.7 Million contract termination
Alpine unsure about Daniel Ricciardo’s services
Daniel Ricciardo was offered a seat in McLaren’s IndyCar team. But the Aussie who does not want to give up on his F1 career yet is not ready to make the move to the Americas.
The Aussie is a likely candidate for Alpine. But his former team are not unsure about the driver as they have multiple drivers in their radars.
The French outfit is looking to sign the services of fellow French driver Pierre Gasly. But Gasly’s parent team Red Bull are quite stiff about letting their driver go.
Saward commented about Gasly saying, “He does a decent job for AlphaTauri but he is not part of the long-term Red Bull plan. Still, it is better to have him on the books, rather than letting a rival team take him.”
Meanwhile, Esteban Ocon has requested Alpine ot sign his ‘good friend’ Mick Schumacher. Mick too has confirmed he will not be renewing his contract with the Ferrari driver academy.
Haas has currently put Mick’s contract extension talks on hold. And the team are ambitious about signing Ricciardo as well.
Haas has recently contacted Ricciardo following his exit from McLaren. But the Aussie is still eyeing only for a return to Alpine. Otherwise, he might consider taking a sabbatical from F1 altogether.
