“So, how do I beat Lando…” Fans go wild as Oscar Piastri is snapped together in a McLaren with predecessor Daniel Ricciardo

Oscar Piastri will replace Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren for 2023 – an Australian for another. The Honey Badger’s performances weren’t as anyone, much less the team and himself would have hoped. He was comprehensively beaten by Lando Norris in both of his seasons with McLaren, even more so in the second one, when many expected him to improve. So, not exactly surprisingly, he was shown the exit door.

Piastri, on the other hand, is one of the highest-rated talents currently, and he chose McLaren over Alpine. That’s two Australians that have now made that move in the past three years. It wasn’t easy though, and the matter went to the Contract Recognition Board (CRB), where the McLaren contract was deemed the only valid one. As his manager Mark Webber stated, Piastri was definitely mindful of replacing Ricciardo, his elder compatriot. But there doesn’t seem to be a lot of broken porcelain between them.

Reddit user u/AidenBuckleigh recently posted an image of what appears to be the two Australians together in the bright and iconic papaya-orange-colored McLaren, coursing through the streets of Melbourne. Piastri, of course, is a native of the city, while Ricciardo is from Perth on the Australian west coast. So, it doesn’t seem as if the Honey Badger holds any resentment against the man who replaced him – and fans are definitely loving the sight.

You might also like: Mark Webber thinks fellow Aussies Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo are ‘pretty different’

Reddit commends Daniel Ricciardo for being a ‘good sport’ towards Oscar Piastri

At the very least, it’s a very funny sight to behold. As expected, Reddit users had a number of jokes in store. It does leave you wondering – what would Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo be discussing? Or are they just going out on a drive, hanging out? Fans had a number of (rather sarcastic) theories regarding this.

But in reply to the above comment, one fan had another theory. Ouch.

Here too.

Fans also sent appreciation towards Ricciardo for being so ‘cool’ about being replaced by Piastri. Surely, it’s not easy being replaced by your much younger countryman, but it definitely doesn’t seem to have fazed him.

In fact, Piastri has earlier commented on the ‘In the Fast Lane’ podcast that Ricciardo reached out to him in the aftermath of the whole summer saga, to make sure that there were no hard feelings. Plus, it’s likely that if not Piastri, it may as well have been somebody else – like Pato O’Ward or 2021 IndyCar champion Alex Palou. It’s not entirely plausible that Ricciardo was pushed out specifically for Piastri. McLaren definitely had alternatives. But now, as it is, Australia continues to be represented in F1. Could be worse.

Other fans praised the OP (u/AidenBuckleigh) for just how good of a snap this is. It must be said – it’s an amazing, eagle-eyed pick-out.

While Piastri learns the ropes in his rookie year, Ricciardo will be taking a year off from the sport, while still serving as a ‘third driver’ for Red Bull. His main aim during the break year is to recover from burnout and rediscover his love for F1. It’ll be interesting to see if he can make a return in 2024 (or in the near future), in which case there would be two Australians on the grid.

In case you missed it:

• “He was the one who was the most loyal,” Mark Webber has an unpopular opinion on the Oscar Piastri-Alpine drama
• “There was a couple of times where [Ferrari] was linked,” Daniel Ricciardo discloses discussions about his prospects with an F1 team

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