Oscar Piastri’s Mom Wasn’t Pleased to Know Her Son Became the Reason Behind Daniel Ricciardo’s Exit

Daniel Ricciardo had a torrid time with McLaren during his two seasons with the team. They sacked him in 2022, even though there was a year remaining on his contract. Oscar Piastri came in to replace him, much to his mother Nicole’s dismay.

Nicole was happy that her son got into F1 with McLaren. But when she got to know that it was Ricciardo whom Oscar would be replacing, she was disappointed. “It dawned on me what that meant. And I was like oh no… Oh, no wait. Oh my God Daniel. I love Daniel,” she said on the Red Flags Podcast. 

Oscar too, understood that filling in the shoes of Ricciardo wouldn’t be easy. “Oscar was like, ‘Yep, everybody loves Daniel,” Nicole further revealed.

Being one of F1’s most popular drivers, Ricciardo got a lot of fans to support McLaren. And when the Woking-based team announced that he would be sacked, they weren’t happy.

Ricciardo never looked comfortable at McLaren. He did win a race with the papaya outfit (Italy 2021). But that was about as good as things would get. Lando Norris comprehensively outperformed him. And the smile Ricciardo always wore, was erased from his face.

Piastri at the time, was Alpine’s reserve driver but had won the F2 Title as a rookie the year prior. McLaren saw the potential in him and signed him up.

Initially left without a seat, Ricciardo re-joined Red Bull ahead of the 2023 season as a third driver. He had to spend six months on the sideline, before replacing an out-of-form Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri (now RB). His dream was to perform well, earn the trust of the Red Bull bosses, and make a return to the Milton-Keynes-based squad.

So far, his plans have not worked out. He continues to race for RB, and a Red Bull seat looks like a far shot. However, if he does perform well, he could replace another out-of-form driver Sergio Perez, in the coming months.