“Take a year off and come back in 2024”: Daniel Ricciardo reveals surprising F1 future plans to Sergio Perez
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Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo’s future in Formula 1 is in a uncertain place. He’s out of a contract at the end of this season (with compensation, of course) and no potential destinations have been confirmed. Ricciardo wants to stay in Formula 1, as evidenced by his reportedly turning down a seat at McLaren…in IndyCar.
There are interested parties. Guenther Steiner reportedly called Ricciardo in relation to a seat at Haas (where he would presumably replace Mick Schumacher), and the Australian did not deny this. There’s Alpine, who have a vacant seat, but Pierre Gasly is supposed to be in that race, as may be Schumacher. There may be a seat open at Williams next year.
But aside from them, there are not a lot of options for Ricciardo. The top three teams lineups’ are locked down, and there’s not much chance for him even if they were open. If the Alpine or Haas ‘potential’ deals do not work out, what will Ricciardo do? Recently, he was clipped discussing just that, with Sergio Perez.
Daniel Ricciardo to take a sabbatical?
Sergio Perez is no stranger to an uncertain future. Back in 2020, the Mexican driver was out of a seat at Racing Point as the team made a decision to replace him with Sebastian Vettel. However, a seat at Red Bull opened up, and everything seems to have worked out for Perez. Ricciardo is in a similar situation, but unfortunately, his performances have not been up to par lately, so he’s in a harder one.
In such a situation, a potential sabbatical may be on the cards. In a recently surfaced video on social media that presumably took place before the Drivers’ Parade, Perez and Ricciardo are seen walking through the paddock, likely discussing what Ricciardo plans to do in the future.
In the video, Ricciardo appears to say: “[I’ll] take a year off, come back in 2024.” It’s likely that this is not the only option, and Ricciardo has said before that he will be open to taking a sabbatical. But as we progress into 2022, this may end up being the only option for the Australian.
What then? Based on what he has shown in this season and the last, it’s unlikely that Ricciardo will be called up for a seat in Formula 1 (by one of the top teams, at the least), but it’s not completely out of the question. It’s possible that he may perform when given the right car, one that suits him. It’ll certainly be interesting to see what direction the Honey Badger’s future will go.
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Aniket Tripathi
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