List of Drivers who can replace Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren in 2023
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Daniel Ricciardo
McLaren is a historical Formula 1 team that has 8 constructor’s and 12 driver’s World Championships. Some of the greatest drivers like Mika Hakkinen, Ayrton Senna, Kimi Raikkonen, and Lewis Hamilton were once part of the team. In fact, Hamilton was the last driver that brought a championship for the team back in 2008, since then, the team has been struggling to perform against the newer teams. McLaren were not a mid-field team, matter of fact, last year at Monza, current drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris crossed the line to make it a 1 – 2 finish for the team.
Watch: McLaren Drivers Daniel Ricciardo & Lando Norris on How to Do a Shoey, Formula 1 & Fame
But Daniel Ricciardo has been struggling in the car since the 2021 season, and this year, too. Although the car is much slower in 2022, Ricciardo has still failed to perform against his teammate, and there are rumors that he might not stay in the team after or during the 2023 season, even though his contract is till the end of 2023. But who would replace the Australian is a question of interest. There are many old and new drivers who could make the list and replace Danny. Some of these drivers are listed below.
Potential replacements for Daniel Ricciardo in McLaren
Colton Herta
Colton Herta is an American Motorsports driver, currently competing in IndyCar who drives the No. 88 Harding Steinbrenner Racing car. He is a decent driver who has scored 7 wins, 10 podiums, and 8 pole positions in his career until now.
He currently tested the McLaren MCL35M in Portugal, at Portimao. The team principal stated that he is currently in IndyCar but “we will be interested to see how he adapts to a Formula 1 car,” PlanetF1 quoted.
Alexander Albon
Alex Albon is a much familiar name in Formula 1; currently driving for Williams, the Thai has previously driven for Red Bull and Toro Rosso. He is an okay driver who has never finished higher than 3rd in his Formula 1 career, but at the same time has the experience of driving 3 different cars in a matter of 3 years.
Jehan Daruvala
Jehan Daruvala is a rising star from India, currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 championship with Prema Powerteam. Daruvala is a pretty good driver who has won 3 races in F2, and finished on the podium 12 times. Recently, he had the chance to test the McLaren at Silverstone. If he makes it into Formula 1, then he would be the 3rd Indian ever driver to ever participate in F1 after Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok.
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel is a name that every person related to Formula 1 in any way has heard. Vettel is one of the most amazing drivers on the grid who has managed to win 4 continuous World Championships with Red Bull from 2009 to 2013, making it an era of the Bulls and his own domination. Although he wasn’t really liked by fans in his early days, today, there is not a single person who does not like Sebastian.
Even with all those skills, he is currently struggling to score a single point in his Aston Martin, and he could be a potential choice for replacing Danny Ric, if they had to.
Ricciardo, without a doubt, is a good driver who had the ultimate chance while he was in Red Bull with Max Verstappen in the Dutchman’s early years. Some of his most iconic race wins such as the one in Monaco in 2018 make it a symbol about his driving. But his latest results with McLaren are far from better, and the team, along with him are struggling. Although the team said that they wouldn’t let Ricciardo go in 2023, there is no certainty of his future in the team after that. He currently stands 12th in the standings with a mere 17 points, whereas his teammate, Lando Norris stands 7th with 64 points.
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Gunaditya Tripathi
(274 Articles Published)