RICCIARDO HAS THREE OFFERS TO REMAIN IN F1

Daniel Ricciardo will remain in Formula One next year, with three big teams offering the possibility of him becoming a test and reserve driver.

As soon as it was clear the popular Australian driver wasn’t going to be able to secure a race seat for 2023, his management got in touch with Mercedes and there was immediate interest from Toto Wolff in doing a deal.

Ricciardo’s intentions in signing a deal as reserve and test driver were clear – with Lewis Hamilton’s contract running out at the end of 2023, the Australian was hoping to show enough speed and contribution to the W14’s development that he would be in a good position to replace the seven-time World Champion from the start of 2024 – if Hamilton would opt to retire.

That however is not going to happen, for Hamilton has been giving clear signs he wants to extend his driving contract with Mercedes for at least another two years, meaning for Ricciardo there would be nothing more than testing and being reserve driver for the German team if he would end up signing a deal with Wolff.

With Nyck de Vries moving to Red Bull’s camp and Stoffel Vandoorne lacking pace in a recent Formula One running, Mercedes needs a reserve driver who is ready to jump in the car and perform immediately…so Ricciardo fits the profile Wolff is looking for.

Understanding that there would be no future race seat for him at Mercedes, the Australian driver and his management decided to explore other alternatives and Helmut Marko was happy to re-open negotiations, with the driver who left Red Bull high and dry in the summer of 2018 when he decided to sign with Renault for the following year.

With de Vries and Yuki Tsunoda racing for AlphaTauri, the Austrian veteran feels he doesn’t have a good enough reserve in his very large pool of drivers and has offered Ricciardo a role that would see him testing both for Red Bull and AlphaTauri, as well as being the reserve driver for the two teams. But with Verstappen on a very long deal and Pérez secure at Red Bull until the end of 2024, this is also not a direct route back to Grand Prix racing for Ricciardo.

But with Mercedes lacking race-ready reserve drivers, McLaren has now joined the line of teams that is willing to have the Australian driver as test and reserve for next year, having relied on the German team for reserve drivers in the last two years.

In Mexico, Team Principal Andreas Seidl admitted that, “we have decided to have our own reserve driver for next year and it will have to be someone who works closely with the team, in the simulator, in tyre testing and so on, so that he’s ready to jump in the car at short notice.”

Asked if his current driver is a candidate for the seat, Seidl left no doubts about it, “of course Daniel would be the ideal driver for the role, because he knows the team well and wouldn’t need any time to adapt.

“I’ve always said I rate Daniel highly, I feel responsible for not being able to help him perform at the level we know he’s capable, so there are no bad feelings between us, none at all.

“Whatever team ends up hiring him will get a quick, motivated driver that also contributes to a great atmosphere in the garage and in the factory, so he’ll be a added value for any team – so it’s clear he can be a good solution for us as well.”

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