“Ricciardo’s time is up at McLaren” : Jacques Villeneuve contends that Daniel Ricciardo’s stint at McLaren is approaching a dead end

“Ricciardo’s time is up at McLaren” : Jacques Villeneuve contends that Daniel Ricciardo’s stint at McLaren is approaching a dead end

Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo had high hopes for 2022. The Australian is still yet to find his tempo, which is putting his place at McLaren under increasing strain. Ricciardo will have to outscore teammate Lando Norris a few times this season, or at least come close. Canadian former F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve acknowledges this as well.

Ricciardo is a huge moneymaker for the Woking-based racing team. T he driver from Perth  was brought from with much fanfare, and of course, an appropriate agreement followed. So far this season, he has earned fewer points in seven Grands Prix than he does in huge amounts of money per year, namely eleven points.

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The statements of McLaren CEO Zak Brown indicate that Ricciardo’s praise is rapidly running out. The currently eleventh placed driver in the world championship leaderboard has an agreement until 2023, but the American executive asserted that McLaren had “certain mechanisms” in place to terminate the agreement.

Also Read: “The bigger d*ck you are, the better off you are,” Alan Jones casts doubts on Daniel Ricciardo’s future in F1 with his ‘nice guy’ image

Jacques Villeneuve believes that this is the end for Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren

Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Villeneuve

Villeneuve claims that Brown’s remarks indicate that the process has started. As per the Canadian, McLaren is attempting to put the squeeze on its driver while also preparing the mainstream press for what is about to come. “Ricciardo’s time is up at McLaren (…) It would be cheaper to continue paying Ricciardo’s salary, leave him at home on the sofa and put another driver in the car. It’s the harsh reality, but that’s Formula 1,” added the Canadian.

The 1996 Formula One world champion claims that Ricciardo is now primarily spending the team funds while providing nothing in exchange. He scores no points and lacks the required speed by the Woking team to improve the car. ForAlphaTauri Pierre Gasly, the breakthroughs at McLaren are perfect.

The AlphaTauri Frenchman wished to come back to Red Bull Racing, but Helmut Marko and Christian Horner favoured a contract renewal for Sergio Perez. Gasly has stated multiple times that he desires a level up, and McLaren might just be that step. All of the other teams in better condition than AlphaTauri have already been sealed for 2023, so Gasly will have to rely on Ricciardo’s departure.

Also Read: Martin Brundle contends there are still signs of tension between former McLaren teammates, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso

Also Read: “Of course Verstappen goes for it” : Jacques Villeneuve believes that Red Bull’s team orders shouldn’t be debated