“I don’t think it’s relative to what others do,” Daniel Ricciardo his F1 future does not depend on Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes situation
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Daniel and Lewis
Daniel Ricciardo, the McLaren F1 driver, is looking all set to sit out the 2023 season of the sport but has indicated, that he is planning on hitting the grid again when 2024 comes around.
Daniel Ricciardo has further made it crystal clear that his F1 career is not dependent on what Lewis Hamilton decides to do in the coming years of the sport. There were rumors swirling that the Australian was eyeing Hamilton’s seat after 2023, however, with his recent statement he has put all those rumors to bed.
The 33-year-old had a contract at McLaren until the end of the 2023 season but because of his continuous lackluster performances, the papaya-colored team decided to cut his contract by one year, although they had to pay Ricciardo a hefty amount.
Moreover, Ricciardo while stressing about replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes said, “The truth is I want him to stay in the sport. He’s one of the greatest ever to do it and I think competing with him, going wheel to wheel with him, is fun, it’s awesome. It’s normally at the pointy end, so I certainly wish to do that more in the future.”
“That’s where it currently lies. I think my future will be… I don’t think it’s relative to what others do. I think it’s, how do I say it like opportunities will arise when they do, but I’m not banking on anyone doing something so I can find my way.”
George Russell’s take on having Daniel Ricciardo at Mercedes in a reserve driver role for 2023
While a full-fledged racing seat at Mercedes is looking very unlikely for Daniel Ricciardo in the upcoming years of the sport, George Russell has not ruled out seeing him on the Brackley-based team in a reserve driver role for next year.
While stressing about it, Russell added, “Yeah, I think that’d be interesting. I think we’d like to see that. But it’s up to Daniel to see what he wants to do with his future.”
Daniel at end of the current campaign is going to part ways with F1 and has indicated that he is looking forward to spending a year away from the pinnacle of motor racing to regroup and get back on the grid in 2024.
“I want to take the time necessary, keep a little bit of distance to the sport and, let’s say, rebuild myself, but then if something makes sense in ‘24, [I’ll] come back with a vengeance and have some fun, and hopefully race at the front.”
Daniel Ricciardo, despite sitting out next year, is confident about 2024 and feels that he still has the desire to race at the front end of the grid.
Considering how dismissal his performances have been for McLaren in recent years, would he be able to secure an F1 drive for the 2024 season of the sport?
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)