McLaren ends Daniel Ricciardo’s deal prematurely, eyes new contract with Oscar Piastri


McLaren ends Daniel Ricciardo’s deal prematurely, eyes new contract with Oscar Piastri

Daniel Ricciardo

Putting an end to months of endless speculations about the driver-hiring situation at McLaren, the Woking-based team has finally made things clear about their intention to take up F2 Champion Oscar Piastri for the next season. The British team still has a firm contract in place for the next season with Australian racer Daniel Ricciardo, and in order to get Piastri, McLaren will have to pay a hefty penalty to the Honey Badger to prematurely terminate the deal.

ADVERTISEMENT

McLaren have not been having the kind of season that they had expected to in 2022 even when their improvements in the previous Championship looked really promising to all F1 pundits. While Lando Norris has still managed to get some hopeful results from the MCL36, Daniel Ricciardo’s performances in the Grands Prix have been abysmal to say the least. Thus, McLaren have almost set upon the initiative to sign Piastri for their Championship campaign in 2023 and have given Daniel the notice that his tenure is about to come to an end at the Woking-based outfit, as per the recent reports.

Also Read: “Always like this!” Max Verstappen ridicules Mercedes’s sandbagging claims ahead of the F1 season opener in Bahrain

McLaren sets a deadline to decide Daniel Ricciardo’s future in F1

Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo

As they are eyeing a contract with Oscar Piastri now, McLaren are rushing the process to make sure the deal comes through. If the news is to be believed, the Formula 1 team has already told Daniel Ricciardo about their decision regarding his contract termination. They have also signed Piastri initially on a reserve driver deal to lock him in for 2023, as Alpine was also trying to crack a deal with Piastri. Motorsports.com reports that Piastri’s reserve seat will be upgraded to a race one, once Ricciardo’s early exit from the team is mutually agreed upon.

ADVERTISEMENT

When Ricciardo signed his racing deal with McLaren in 2020, it was a multi-year contract that was supposed to go into 2023, but the team have decided to let the racer go as his results have not been as they had hoped for. On the upside for Ricciardo, he will still get a substantial pay-off, even though he would be walking away from McLaren at the end of this season.

Following his McLaren exit, there are several options for the eight-time Grand Prix winner to consider. He might be making a move to Alpine to return as Esteban Ocon‘s teammate, or he might move to Formula E, IndyCar series, or some other Championship league.

Read More: Lewis Hamilton and Michelle Obama share a warm embrace as former first Lady of US makes special appearance in Mercede Garage

Also Read: “Always like this!” Max Verstappen ridicules Mercedes’s sandbagging claims ahead of the F1 season opener in Bahrain

ADVERTISEMENT

Do follow us on: Google News | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter