So it has been announced that Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren have agreed to part ways at the end of the 2022 season despite the Australian-born driver having a year left on his contract. This is far from surprising given the murmurings throughout the season so far, however, given Daniel's status and is one of the most marketable and recognizable faces in racing, it is a brave call from McLaren CEO Zak Brown. Brown acknowledged Ricciardo's impending departure on Wednesday stating,
“It’s no secret that we hoped we could achieve more together, but seeing him stand on the top step of the podium as a McLaren driver was a highlight,“ and finished by wishing Ricciardo well for the future, emphasizing too that there is still half a season to go and plenty of points available.
Ricciardo took to Twitter to release his own statement, telling his fans there were "several months of discussions" that ended in this outcome. The 33-year-old Australian driver also said he will announce his next F1 team "in due course".
Ricciardo has never fully lived up to his potential considering how promising he started his career at Red Bull. After leaving Red Bull for Renault in a move which didn't quite work out, he joined McLaren at the beginning of last season. Despite winning a race for McLaren in 2021, his time racing in orange has been mostly underwhelming. This season so far Ricciardo has had a disaster, being outperformed by his teammate Lando Norris badly. Ricciardo has only four top 10 finishes in 13 races, finding himself 12th in the drivers' Championship with only 19 points, while Norris is five places above in 7th having 76 points.
So where could Ricciardo find himself next season? It's clear he sees himself racing in F1 but where?
Alpine
Alpine would be familiar territory for Ricciardo as they were previously Renault. Alpine also have an open seat for next season at the moment, given the fact Fernando Alonso has signed a deal with Aston Martin to replace Sebastian Vettel for the start of next season. The previous favourite to take the seat was Oscar Piastri, however, he seems unwilling to step up from being their reserve driver to replace Alonso. Additionally, Piastri seems to be at top of the list of McLaren's targets to drive for them next season and Paul Di Nesta believes Piastri's rejection of Alpine means that he already has another seat lined up.
From Ricciardo's point of view, Alpine represents him an opportunity to remain competitive as they are battling McLaren for 4th place. This move seems to be perfect for all parties, the only catch could be the messy breakup Ricciardo and Renault went through only 24 months ago. A breakup which transpired due to Ricciardo perceiving a lack of ambition in the French team.
Haas
Haas seems to be after Ricciardo according to reports, with ESPN even reporting that Haas team boss Guenther Steiner had approached Ricciardo prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix. Daniel Ricciardo would be a massive coup for Hass given their small reputation and he would be their highest profile driver in their six years in F1.
These rumours hint at the likely absence of Mick Schumacher in the Haas lineup for 2023, due to Kevin Magnussen having an impressive return to F1 racing. This also adds to the rumour mill which seems to point toward Schumacher leaving with other teams possibly eyeing him up. Haas however offers Ricciardo little hope of being competitive at the top and even less hope of ever winning a race again, a move to Haas would mean he would be effectively resigning to the fact he won't be achieving his potential. On top of this, the budget at Haas would likely not allow for the incorporation of Ricciardo who would likely command a huge wage due to his household name.
Another motorsport series?
Ricciardo being just 33 years old is in the prime of his racing career and has made it abundantly clear that he envisions his future to be racing. While an exit from F1 is unlikely, it is possible Ricciardo runs out of options due to the limited open seats at the moment. In this scenario, it could be possible that we see Ricciardo look outside of F1, with racing series such as IndyCar and Formula E, both of which would love to have him. This is due to Ricciardo's huge name in the US, thanks largely to his popularity on the Netflix series 'Drive to Survive'. McLaren has both an IndyCar team and a Formula E team, and CEO Brown has hinted that may be an option for Ricciardo. Despite this, Brown emphasised that Ricciardo's priority is to continue racing in F1.
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