“I struggle to see him come back after a year out”: Jenson Button is sceptical of Daniel Ricciardo’s return to F1 in future
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After a string of upsetting races where Daniel Ricciardo failed to get his deserved results even after giving it his all, the Australian finally managed to impress the fans at the Mexican GP by putting up one of his best performances in this season. And this made it all the harder for the followers of the Honey Badger to accept that he would not be retaining his seat in McLaren next year as the team is all-set prematurely drop him from their contract in order to take Oscar Piastri up.
Now, with only a couple of races left in the roster, almost all the teams have announced their final line-up for next year’s Championship season, and the options seem too limited for Daniel Ricciardo. Haas is yet to confirm their final pairing for next year, but it is most likely going to be a contest between Mick Schumacher and Nico Hulkenberg for that seat. That leaves the Mercedes reserve driver Rolex which Stoffel Vandoorne recently vacated, for Ricciardo.
But according to 2009 World Champion Jenson Button, Daniel Ricciardo might never find his way back to being a regular F1 racer once he accepts a reduced role in one of the teams as a reserve driver. The Briton admitted he is struggling with the idea that Ricciardo would have to move to reserve roles for now even though he has some potential left in him to shine on the racetracks.
Jenson Button believes Daniel Ricciardo did not go for the Haas seat because “he didn’t wanna drop off too far down the grid”
Daniel Ricciardo’s career moves in Formula One have been a much-debated topic as of late ever since McLaren confirmed they would be releasing him from their deal to hire Oscar Piastri as Lando Norris’ new partner. While going over the steps Daniel has taken in ascertaining a role for himself in the F1 2023 grid, Jenson Button explained why the Australian did not go for Schumacher’s Haas seat. He said, “I guess he didn’t want to drop too far down the grid and work with a team that’s more towards the rear.“
But Jenson also said the reserve driver role does not suit a racer with Daniel Ricciardo’s calibre, “He has the talent, and in a car that suits him, he would show his skill. But if sits one year out? I struggle to see him come back.”
That being said, nothing has been confirmed regarding Daniel Ricciardo’s future steps yet. Fans are still optimistic he will take up the Haas deal to appear on the grid next year, but it is almost certain now that the Honey Badger will go into a reserve driver role for F1 2023.
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Riddhi Mondal
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