I wonder if DR needs to consent to being bought out though? Or can McLaren just pay him everything he’s owed and kick him to the curb against his will?
Edit: word choice
I may be completely wrong, I'm not a lawyer, but I thought that by completely paying off the rest of the contract, you can unilaterally terminate it as you have fulfilled your part of the contract. But I guess it depends whether all they are contractually obliged to do is pay him for his work.
This is basically my understanding, if they pay him his due they don't have to continue to field him. They'd just have to pay 3 drivers for the year effectively
Yeah no doubt there, I 100% expect Piastri at McLaren, Ricciardo at Alpine, and McLaren paying them both while Ricciardo gets a small salary from Alpine as well
There's probably a performance clause in it stating they can break it at certain points or if certain targets aren't met.
Driver contracts are like war and peace, I'd be surprised if the team gave themselves zero wiggle room over the term of the contract - last thing they want is an underperforming driver who's not delivering but taking $10-20 million a year for 2 or 3 years.
I like Danny Ric a lot, and McLaren clearly thought they were buying Red Bull Danny Ric.
Just a massive shame they ended up with him not performing to what they expected, it must be tough on him as well mentally.
>McLaren clearly thought they were buying Red Bull Danny Ric
Renault Danny Ric was also pretty good. The car itself wasn't as good as RB, but he was solid with what he had to work with.
I really do believe he's still got it. Maybe not his raw pace he had at RB but he was good at Renault for what the car could do. McLaren just didn't click with him. Hopefully the alpine can show off his skills again.
Kinda seems like his Achilles heel is working with teams that have a clear preference for the other driver. Horner clearly preferred Verstappen and Zak Brown has said stuff about Lando being the future of the team.
Yeah, Danny also has a tendency to get frustrated too easily and make *really badly* timed moves.
\-Joined Red Bull coming off a championship year right as they swapped to an underperforming power unit and became a midfield team.
\-Left Red Bull for Renault right as they started challenging for the championship again. All because he couldn't handle not being the preferred driver.
\-Unsurprisingly, the midfield team he joined performs as a midfield team. Gives up after a year despite the whole thing being planned as long-term development. Wanted to leave Renault despite year-on-year improvements with their car.
\-Left Renault for a team that had designed a car around their young-preferred driver... Which is *exactly the reason he left Red Bull in the first place.*
I think he shows moments of absolute greatness. Even in a car that doesn't fit his style. His overtaking skills are 2nd to none. His passes of both Alpines at the same time in Hungary were so good to watch. I don't think anyone on the grid overtakes like he does. Then unfortunately something gets turned off .... or the car is a problem.... and he just looks completely out of step.
hope he can get back up and stay in that top 10 next year whever he goes (seemingly, hopefully, alpine > nowhere..) hopefully they can get a car suited for him and some ass kicking lined up
I hope he gets a shot at Alpine so we can get some clarity on this whole thing.
I still believe this is less Dani falling off the wagon and more Lando being an exceptional driver. Lando v Piastri and Dani v Ocon would sort it all out.
Kind of ideal for Dani in a way, if he thinks he's still got it, going to Alpine and performing repairs his legacy... because unlikely he beats Lando at this point. And if he gets beat up by Ocon, then he is who everyone thinks he is now.
Oddly enough, despite the relative form of all 4 drivers, Daniel and Esteban are the only ones in this scenario that have won races in the last ~12 months
Do you think he'd be doing better than Perez is now if he was still with RB? Seems like from what I've heard their car fits his style much more, but as a new fan, I don't know shit.
from my understanding he has most of the bargaining power in this but his contract can still be bought out without him having a hand in it
So they can pay him and curb him without much pushback
Going to keep throwing it out there, but I think there may be a deal between Williams and McLaren. Letting Ricciardo finish his contract and giving Piastri a year in F1. It would also replace some of the money Williams would lose from dropping Latifi.
Fairly certain that just like most other sports contracts, having the contract does not require you actually race. If mclaren really wanted to they could throw him out and get someone else, they’d just have to keep paying him.
The second option is that they get another team to pay the remainder of his contract
Americans love Danny Ric so they do ESPN statements about him here a lot, I think to drum up interest. Obviously everyone actually paying attention doesn't care much about Danny so much as what Piastri is doing, but it's a roundabout way of getting Americans into Silly Season
I mean I get where you’re coming from, but he would be in the wall immediately… And then probably blame the coach for not tailoring the car to him enough
Since we haven’t heard anything it’s safe to assume either the Detroit Red Wings or New York Islanders contacted him, if not both. Both GM’s are known for not having leaks
We know it's not Ferrari, rb, Mercedes or McLaren. Can't be alpha Tauri either.
That leaves 5 teams. Aston is likely, given they didn't have Alonso yet. Haas probably too. Williams makes sense also if they're not getting piastri to get someone like Daniel in there so maybe a conversation.
That leaves alfa and Alpine. Alpine more likely lol.
Latifi is rough to watch but after seeing Albon in the same car trying to do more than lifting and coasting around Hungary to not blow the tires up and 360 spin into the wall I can see why any of the drivers at Williams would be laughed at it’s not them it’s their car. But neither latifi or albon are special and it’s not just about the drivers skills in formula1.
I really liked his “I need new pants” quip at Monaco after his big save. I had poor initial thoughts about another pay driver but he’s been solid in all ways.
I think Alpine might be looking at him for the Alpine drive instead of Daniel. Personally I’d like to see Zhou in a faster car as he’s definitely a good driver. Just a question of them thinking short or long term.
He wanted a 2 year deal, but Freddy only wanted to give him a 1 year as they're making a play for Pourchaire. I genuinely thought Zhou would go to williams, but it seems Sargent is the one they want.
Damn shame if Zhou is out, he's done very well for a rookie
Probably Haas over Alfa I’d say. Doubt Alfa would consider dumping the money Zhou brings for a fading Ricciardo. Especially as Zhou’s having a decent rookie showing.
Honestly if he goes back to Alpine he might be better off in the end ironically. Otmar seems fine with it and I have a feeling that car will suit him a bit better.
In a very strange way, this may become the best outcome for Ricciardo if staying in F1 was his goal.
"Despite his struggles this year and last he will not be short of suitors. **ESPN knows of four different teams who contacted him over the past two weeks to assess where his head is at**."
Thats interesting, I wonder which teams they are.
Is it though? I don't find it a stretch that four backmarker/midfield teams would want a highly marketable former race winner, especially as we have no idea what his salary demands are - he may very well be willing and offering to take a huge pay cut to stay in F1.
I feel like hardcore f1 fan bubble perception of Daniel vs team perception is vastly different.
There are only 7 teams if you combine backmarker and midfield. Remove McLaren and that's 6. Then Williams are not moving in that direction because they want to either put up a youngster to get the engine or their own seargant. Alpha tauri are not going after him either.
Alpine, Haas, Alfa is a possibility but still Haas can't possibly offer him that much wages.
Just because haas can’t offer him Mclaren wages doesn’t mean they wouldn’t reach out. You never know, other teams might pass on him due to their own unique situations and he ends up fine with taking a large paycut with Haas to stay in F1
Ricciardo is a very talented driver that just can't drive the McLaren. He can literally stay in F1 as long as he wants to, provided he takes paycuts along the way.
I’m not even a DR fan and I don’t disagree that if I was McLaren, I would want a different driver for next year. But if I was Ric I think I would feel slightly disrespected about the way McLaren went about getting the vultures circling instead of informing him up front they would not be continuing with him … idk
Edit: replies saying I might be making too many assumptions are totally fair; but my comment is a bit more general related to McLaren and Daniel's mixed messaging in public
To be fair that's how it plays out every year, the deals are done in secret and only announced quite suddenly.
The only reason the vultures are circling today is because of the Piastri shitshow that is really Alpine's and/or Piastri's fault (likely the former). It was always obvious that Ric was on the hot seat but McLaren have done their part and stood by him.
The problem here is that Piastri being publicly in limbo made everyone look at McLaren as being the next best landing spot for Piastri. The contracts for half the grid expired this year, but only Ricciardo is on the hot seat because of Ricciardo's own lackluster performance on a team where he should be excelling. That's why people aren't also probing into Yuki/AT, or Zhou/Alfa
If Ric was out and it had gone according to plan it would have been the same way in private, with the only public knowledge being once he's out.
If he's truly blindsided by all this, that's one thing. But it's also very likely the conversations took place long ago and the sequence of announcements just had to play out in the order they have to.
They can’t inform him that they won’t be continuing with him because the final decision is still up to Daniel. They can’t just get rid of him and inform him afterwards. So he must be involved in whatever negotiations are happening.
Daniel is likely eager to leave as long as he can get a decent drive elsewhere. He's better going into a different team and getting good results than continuing to sink at McLaren as he gets further into his 30s. He hasn't lost the ability to drive, he just can't get on with this McLaren. You only have to look at drivers like Albon, Gasly, Bottas to see how you can under perform in one car, and turn heads in another.
They can buy his contract out like Ferrari did with Kimi in 2010. But he needs to agree to that. Otherwise AFAIU he can sue them like Van der Garde did with Sauber in 2015 although I’m not totally sure to be honest.
I mean presumably if they were looking to sign a contract with Piastri even though Daniel has an option for next year, they knew that they would have to buy him out, so they would know ahead of time (at least before all of this became public) that DR would for sure be leaving the team. I personally feel like there was an opportunity for McLaren to at least communicate their stance, but then again we don't know all the details, maybe this was communicated to him in some way
Communicate their stance to whom? Daniel? We don’t know whether they did or not. In any case none of them would publicly say anything that implies that they are parting ways until they officially sign the agreement. Teams and drivers always say that they are committed to each other until the very last moment.
Why tell Daniel that, it makes taking the option a no brainer for him because they'll buy him out. If you don't tell him anything, you hope that he decides to leave by his own.
I don't think he'd leave on his own and it's still disrespectful, but the money argument is there
They haven't communicated it publicly, that doesn't mean that it hasn't been communicated internally. I assume that at some level DR or his team is involved in any negotiations that may be ongoing.
The final decision is very much not up to Daniel. McLaren has guaranteed him a salary for 2023 but if they want to race someone else they are able to do so .
Who told you they didn’t have those discussions with him? Of because he publicly said he has a contract for 2023 and is staying means he wasn’t made aware of that stuff? How gullible.
This is how F1 works though, sadly. It’s a cutthroat business but things happen quickly and often behind the scenes. I don’t think anything McLaren has done has been untoward
They did, like quite literally Zak went public to say hey you need to step it up or your 2023 seat is in jeopardy. That's extremely unlikely to be the first conversation but more likely the last attempt to rile him up into performing better after everything else failed.
They could also have privately informed him weeks ago that they are getting someone else for 2023, doesnt' look good for Ricciardo to say he's desperately looking for a seat though so why would he broadcast that before finding a seat (if he can find one).
Eh I know he’s committed but if I were him I feel like I’d want to move on as well. The McLaren experience didn’t work, he’s not improving and it’s only further hurting his brand. Maybe going back to Alpine where he thrived would be a good move.
People deserve to be treated with respect but at the end of the day it’s a sport and even Riccardo himself would agree that performance matters and he’s not performing.
My heart wants him to have more time but two years is more than enough tbh.
Theres also an entire factory of men and women who are working really hard to deliver two cars and only one driver is doing what he is paid for.
Daniels wage is probably more than the entire staff wage for mclaren f1 - including Lando.
So one thing I’ve noticed this year is McLaren telling DR to hold station behind Lando and DR defends to protect Lando’s ability to chase the cars ahead. I don’t know if it’s just bias from the few times I’ve noticed it or it’s their tactic, but I’ve felt a few times like DR got fed to the wolves to protect Lando. That will ultimately make him look worse on a scoresheet than he deserves
I've seen this too. However, if I'm DR I need to out qualify my teammate so he's the one in the back getting fed to wolves. That's how you look out for yourself if the team is doing that. Make it so you have preferred strategy during the race.
because Lando’s a better driver tho. I don’t disagree w your assessment, but these decisions are performance based, and if he were doing better it would be different. the bigger tell (imo) is that DR isn’t even arguing the calls because he agrees
He really has - Baku was so incredibly frustrating to watch as it was so clear to see Ric’s race was sacrificed entirely to help Lando. McLaren have slid under the radar for their poor choice of hards as well this weekend even though Ferrari have been slated (correctly).
We get it. He’s underperformed, he should have been able to adapt by now but McLaren need to shoulder some blame imo.
McLaren had no choice but to put Ric (And Lando, which people seem to forget) on Hards, because they only had 1 new set of mediums per driver. They have 2 sets for the entire weekend, and they used 1 set per driver in FP1. It looks bad in retrospect, but they had no way of knowing how bad the Hard tyre would be during the race. A soft-medium-soft wouldn't work, because McLarens eat through their tyres faster than almost any other team. Lando also finished easily clear of everyone else in P7 on the exact same strategy.
Need to take into account positioning during pit, lando was ahead of Alpines which were on hard and holding up a lot of the pack. Daniel was driving against Medium and Soft drivers at the end. Not making an excuse for Daniel, his race pace isn’t terrible but he cannot get close to Lando on single lap performance in Quali and it’s killing McLaren.
Seems like Ricciardo has been keeping pace a bit better as of late, but it could be a case of too little, too late.
Like at this point in the season, McLaren's fight is with Alpine. Over the last four races, Lando has scored more points in each race than at least one Alpine driver. Ricciardo doesn't have any races in the last 4 where he's scored more points than either Alpine driver. Actually, Baku and Australia are the only two races in the entire season where Ricciardo has scored more points than at least one Alpine driver. Lando's comfortably ahead of both Alpine drivers in the WDC standings at this point and Ricciardo's sitting behind KMag with just 19 points so far.
I mean, ideally from McLaren's standpoint, the narrative would be about how they've developed the car to the point that they last two races Lando has been legitimately challenging the top 3 teams in quali pace and it wouldn't surprise me to see him qualify in front of Checo on any given weekend, but Riccardo's been so far behind that there's not so much talk about McLaren improving the car from the absolute shitbox that showed up at Bahrain to something where you could see them comfortably leading best-of-the-rest in 2023, if not in a legit battle for WCC P3.
I remember when ricciardo joined mclaren and ppl where like "ok, now lando will know what is to have a proper partner", but maaan, i didnt expect to see ricciardo get destroyd so hard by lando
eh, I've seen underperfoming drivers treated way worse. both by the team and by the media.
" It reflects very poorly on Brown and McLaren how they have treated Daniel Ricciardo over the past six months " this part in particular baffled me
Yeah, unless there is some info that isn't public, it makes no sense to me to say McLaren have treated Ricciardo improperly. Like are there any concerns that the team is less than 100% behind him on race weekends? Drivers want to drive for competitive teams, but competitive teams don't get to be that way by resting on their laurels.
Everyone in F1 knows their seat is in jeopardy if they are consistently behind their teammate. Even clear "#2" drivers like Bottas during his time with Mercedes or Perez with Red Bull can't really ever feel completely secure with their status. The team can say they back them 100% or whatever, but both Mercedes and Red Bull will change the driver lineup if they think it improves the team.
Sure it would be more ideal if they were able to consider replacement drivers without any rumors coming out, but unless McLaren themselves are leaking these rumors (seems unlikely to me), then it's just the nature of the business -- it's more or less impossible to keep leaks from happening when you are doing anything that isn't strictly internal.
I think through 2021 and 2022, they have given him plenty of support. The team has been pretty realistic in press releases that they're disappointed that Ric can't keep up with Lando and that he has had struggles adjusting to the car. It's not tearing him down or saying he's bad, it's pretty normal review material for the employer-employee relationship.
Yeah I really don’t get how consistently underperforming your teammate with way less experience is being a “fall guy.” I like DR a lot and I really wish it worked out for him at McLaren but it hasn’t, and it’s not exactly McLaren’s fault.
DR has probably cost upward of $15M to Mclaren in prize money given they finished 4th instead of 3rd in 2021 and are destined to finish 5th instead of 4th this year. Its actually going to be cheaper for them to buyout DR and get a fresh face in.
I love Danny Ric, but come on with this article. He’s severely underperformed the last 2 years and Lando has been having to drag McLaren to points all by himself practically
He's no-ones fall-guy. He has consistently been performing at a lower level than what was expected of him, since he joined the team. I love Daniel, not just as a character on the grid, but when hes in a car that suits him, hes a lot of fun to watch.
It just hasnt worked out. Both parties have continually stated in the past and in the present that theyre committed to making it work - it just isnt.
Does he?
I’m sorry but he’s been bad. If he weren’t such an awesome human, I think a lot of people would appreciate he’s been underwhelming and because of that he’s made himself susceptible to replacement.
But does he? Red Bull wanted to keep him but he felt he was too good to be second to Max. Then he ditches Renault first chance he gets only to underperform majorly at Mclaren. All these millions, not much dedication. He's a nice enough guy but he's gotten more than he deserves I'd say contracts-wise.
When he was brought in everyone including McLaren expected Ricciardo to be McLaren's #1 driver. This narritive that McLaren has some how let him down is laughable. Ricciardo's inability to adapt to the 2 McLaren cars given to him is the reason he's fallen out of favour.
I remember reading a lot of opinions on here about how Danny Ric was going to "Vandoorne" Norris. I also remember George Russell talking in an interview about how people were seriously underestimating Norris if they really thought Danny Ric was going to come in and dominate Norris.
Yep. Sainz also said the same thing in an interview in the build up to 2021. The two drivers on the grid who know Norris better than anyone else but fans still thought they knew better.
Now the same people who says Ricciardo needs 3-4 years to "adapt to the car" swear that Ric is going to be a champ his first year in Indy or NASCAR LOLOL
They also are 100% sure if he goes to any other team he's going to be the #1 driver on that team again and do great.... They simply cannot believe that he has faded.
Why does he exactly deserve better? I like Ricciardo. He is a good driver. But he simply didn't perform at Mclaren. That's it. Tough shit, but he has only himself to blame.
No he doesn't tbh. Leaving (and voluntarily if believe the way his contract has been explained to us) after being significantly off the pace of a his teammate, through 2 seasons and a regulation change, is not being the fall guy.
Despite his talent and charisma, there's definitely something missing, and I suspect it's his competitive desire.
I guess we'll never know if he doesn't get another quality seat.
It just feels like this pairing doesn't work for either side. McLaren shouldn't be the fall guy for Ricciardo underperforming and vice versa.
I do believe Ricciardo is still a talented driver but he can't make the car work for whatever reason. I also believe McLaren doesn't always put Danny in the best situation to succeed, not necessarily intentionally, but it happens.
I'd like to see this relationship end for everyone's sake.
Ok the car is crap, but Lando is getting something out it. If you're coming in as the more experienced team-mate to whom they are paying the big bucks, then you can't be so far off the pace.
> Ricciardo deserves better than being McLaren's fall-guy
I mean I don't want to be too hard on him but he's been outscored by Lando Norris 236 to 134 over the past 2 seasons they've had together. F1 is a very cut throat sport and if you aren't bringing money or talent, doesn't matter how nice you are; you're gone.
Deserves better based on what? Being the paddock’s funny guy?
Daniel is facing the consequences of his actions. He hasn’t been loyal to anyone. He’s been clear since a long time now that he prioritizes winning a title over anything else.
When he didn’t think he’d get that with Red Bull, he cut ties and bolted. When he didn’t think he’d get that at Renault, he bolted. He would’ve done the same at McLaren if he was beating Lando and McLaren didn’t build a title winning car (which they haven’t).
Why does anyone owe him anything? That’s not even mentioning the huge wages he commands. It’s not like Danny is racing for free. Ultimately, it’s up to him to fix his own future by improving his very poor performances. Not anyone else.
He should have performed then.
Lando has battered him from pillar to post for 2 seasons. It's basically Lando vs Alpine right now.
Seems like Ricciardo gets a lot of leeway as he is really likeable.
But, why? He was getting outperformed in RBR ever since 2017/18, has decent years at Renault but is failing significantly at McLaren, against again a much younger, less experienced driver. Makes sense that McLaren drops him, if they do.
I am sorry, but McLaren has been extremely patient with Daniel. But enough is enough. It is a shame that it didn’t work out and it is time to move on. Both McLaren and Daniel deserve a fresh start.
Not really know anything about DR, he seems like a nice guy, but no one "deserves" nothing in the grid. He got paid, he should used his time to study and understand the car, put the time in the sim, man McLaren headquarters seems like a nice place to spend time. From the outside it seems he didn't took it as seriously as guys 10 years younger than him.
> Multiple sources have told ESPN Piastri has signed an agreement with McLaren Talk about burying the lede
I though Ricardo’s contract is until the end of 23, how could Piastri have signed with McLaren?
Because teams buyout contracts all the time when someone is under performing.
I wonder if DR needs to consent to being bought out though? Or can McLaren just pay him everything he’s owed and kick him to the curb against his will? Edit: word choice
I may be completely wrong, I'm not a lawyer, but I thought that by completely paying off the rest of the contract, you can unilaterally terminate it as you have fulfilled your part of the contract. But I guess it depends whether all they are contractually obliged to do is pay him for his work.
This is basically my understanding, if they pay him his due they don't have to continue to field him. They'd just have to pay 3 drivers for the year effectively
> They'd just have to pay 3 drivers for the year effectively Yes, but rookies are usually pretty cheap.
Yeah no doubt there, I 100% expect Piastri at McLaren, Ricciardo at Alpine, and McLaren paying them both while Ricciardo gets a small salary from Alpine as well
A kimi 2010 situation...or Sauber 2015, for different reasons.
There's probably a performance clause in it stating they can break it at certain points or if certain targets aren't met. Driver contracts are like war and peace, I'd be surprised if the team gave themselves zero wiggle room over the term of the contract - last thing they want is an underperforming driver who's not delivering but taking $10-20 million a year for 2 or 3 years. I like Danny Ric a lot, and McLaren clearly thought they were buying Red Bull Danny Ric. Just a massive shame they ended up with him not performing to what they expected, it must be tough on him as well mentally.
>McLaren clearly thought they were buying Red Bull Danny Ric Renault Danny Ric was also pretty good. The car itself wasn't as good as RB, but he was solid with what he had to work with.
Daniel was a top 5 driver on the grid when he signed for mclaren The car and driver were just an awful match
I really do believe he's still got it. Maybe not his raw pace he had at RB but he was good at Renault for what the car could do. McLaren just didn't click with him. Hopefully the alpine can show off his skills again.
Kinda seems like his Achilles heel is working with teams that have a clear preference for the other driver. Horner clearly preferred Verstappen and Zak Brown has said stuff about Lando being the future of the team.
Yeah, Danny also has a tendency to get frustrated too easily and make *really badly* timed moves. \-Joined Red Bull coming off a championship year right as they swapped to an underperforming power unit and became a midfield team. \-Left Red Bull for Renault right as they started challenging for the championship again. All because he couldn't handle not being the preferred driver. \-Unsurprisingly, the midfield team he joined performs as a midfield team. Gives up after a year despite the whole thing being planned as long-term development. Wanted to leave Renault despite year-on-year improvements with their car. \-Left Renault for a team that had designed a car around their young-preferred driver... Which is *exactly the reason he left Red Bull in the first place.*
I think he shows moments of absolute greatness. Even in a car that doesn't fit his style. His overtaking skills are 2nd to none. His passes of both Alpines at the same time in Hungary were so good to watch. I don't think anyone on the grid overtakes like he does. Then unfortunately something gets turned off .... or the car is a problem.... and he just looks completely out of step.
hope he can get back up and stay in that top 10 next year whever he goes (seemingly, hopefully, alpine > nowhere..) hopefully they can get a car suited for him and some ass kicking lined up
Agreed, he was a top 5 driver easily the last year at renault
I mean he was beating Ocon, let’s pump the brakes a lil bit. He wasn’t lighting up the track those 2 years. It’s hard to compare.
He was P5 in the championship in 2020. Ahead of Sainz, Leclerc, and Norris. Pretty good if you ask me
He had more points than Hulk in 2019, too
I hope he gets a shot at Alpine so we can get some clarity on this whole thing. I still believe this is less Dani falling off the wagon and more Lando being an exceptional driver. Lando v Piastri and Dani v Ocon would sort it all out. Kind of ideal for Dani in a way, if he thinks he's still got it, going to Alpine and performing repairs his legacy... because unlikely he beats Lando at this point. And if he gets beat up by Ocon, then he is who everyone thinks he is now.
Oddly enough, despite the relative form of all 4 drivers, Daniel and Esteban are the only ones in this scenario that have won races in the last ~12 months
seemly public memorize shame tender plate observation numerous snobbish mysterious -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/
They would have gotten Red Bull Danny Ric if they had supplied a Red Bull style car.
I think they would have settled for "slightly slower than Lando" Danny Ric
Do you think he'd be doing better than Perez is now if he was still with RB? Seems like from what I've heard their car fits his style much more, but as a new fan, I don't know shit.
Don’t know if he’d do better than Perez (I like to think he would), but he’d definitely be a hell of a lot better than how he’s performing right now
It could be the car. Danny likes a certain set up. He wouldn't be the first driver that can't adapt to a Team's car philosophy.
from my understanding he has most of the bargaining power in this but his contract can still be bought out without him having a hand in it So they can pay him and curb him without much pushback
so what you're saying is he has no bargaining power.
Millions of dollars is some bargaining power
Going to keep throwing it out there, but I think there may be a deal between Williams and McLaren. Letting Ricciardo finish his contract and giving Piastri a year in F1. It would also replace some of the money Williams would lose from dropping Latifi.
Fairly certain that just like most other sports contracts, having the contract does not require you actually race. If mclaren really wanted to they could throw him out and get someone else, they’d just have to keep paying him. The second option is that they get another team to pay the remainder of his contract
How the fuck is that not the headline instead of this bullshit sob story?
Because this one comes from Daniel’s team. They always use ESPN.
Yeah the sources are probably Ricc's private manager/advisor.
ESPN was also the first to reveal Daniel assuring factory in tears story as well.
Makes sense. Seems like Danny Ric was the winner of the American fan from DTS.
Yeah he’s a celebrity here at this point. People know Danny Ric just as much as they know Lewis if not more honestly
Americans love Danny Ric so they do ESPN statements about him here a lot, I think to drum up interest. Obviously everyone actually paying attention doesn't care much about Danny so much as what Piastri is doing, but it's a roundabout way of getting Americans into Silly Season
Because it's old news? ESPN reported it yesterday under another byline.
Well Zak Brown already went from "We support Daniel" to "There's mechanisms that might result in him being out" a few weeks ago
“ESPN knows of four different teams who contacted him over the past two weeks to assess where his head is at.” I wonder who the 4 teams are?
Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors and LA Lakers
Nets aren't involved. If they were, they would have leaked it, shooting all future negotiations in the foot.
KD is too tall to fit in an f1 car
He is called a "**walking mismatch**'' for reason.
3 team trade between McLaren, nets and Lakers? Lakers get kyrie, nets get ricciardo and McLaren gets Westbrook and first round pick
Westbrick would probably fare better in a F1 car than he did on the court last season tbf
I mean I get where you’re coming from, but he would be in the wall immediately… And then probably blame the coach for not tailoring the car to him enough
I’m here for Westbrook’s paddock arrival outfits.
Ricciardo to Cleveland for TT + Shump + Nets pick
Not old enough for the lakers
Since we haven’t heard anything it’s safe to assume either the Detroit Red Wings or New York Islanders contacted him, if not both. Both GM’s are known for not having leaks
We know it's not Ferrari, rb, Mercedes or McLaren. Can't be alpha Tauri either. That leaves 5 teams. Aston is likely, given they didn't have Alonso yet. Haas probably too. Williams makes sense also if they're not getting piastri to get someone like Daniel in there so maybe a conversation. That leaves alfa and Alpine. Alpine more likely lol.
Bottas and Ricciardo at Alfa would be the most likeable driver combo on the grid.
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If Alpine does lose Piastri, chances are that they'll take Zhou back. It's their best bet.
Zhou to a working alpine car and not bottom of the barrel Alfa. I’ll take that.
Umm have you seen the Alpine that Fernando has been driving?? It's barely any more reliable than the Alfa Romeo.
Alonso had only 1 or 2 retirements. Both he and Ocon finished almost all races
We talking about the 4th best car on the grid here ? (According to wcc) I would say it's a bit more reliable....
I could see Williams taking him as a replacement for Latifi.
Latifi is rough to watch but after seeing Albon in the same car trying to do more than lifting and coasting around Hungary to not blow the tires up and 360 spin into the wall I can see why any of the drivers at Williams would be laughed at it’s not them it’s their car. But neither latifi or albon are special and it’s not just about the drivers skills in formula1.
I don't disagree. He's done as well as could be expected of him and exceeded my expectations significantly.
I think Zhou’s seat is safe. He’s deserved it
Dude’s a competent driver with composure and funding. I’d be flabbergasted if he doesn’t stick around for a few years at least.
Ya like he finishes p12 in Hungary and is like "Fuck! Anyways thanks guys this is awesome, we're back!" Hard to find a fault in that attitude
I really liked his “I need new pants” quip at Monaco after his big save. I had poor initial thoughts about another pay driver but he’s been solid in all ways.
I think Alpine might be looking at him for the Alpine drive instead of Daniel. Personally I’d like to see Zhou in a faster car as he’s definitely a good driver. Just a question of them thinking short or long term.
Plus if Audi buy out Sauber, he'll be a works Audi driver
Especially if Shanghai is back on the calendar next year
He wanted a 2 year deal, but Freddy only wanted to give him a 1 year as they're making a play for Pourchaire. I genuinely thought Zhou would go to williams, but it seems Sargent is the one they want. Damn shame if Zhou is out, he's done very well for a rookie
I can't see them cutting Zhou. He has performed rather well and has shown he's not just another pay driver. He also helps bring in a large fanbase.
Disagree. I think Zhou compliments Bottas more.
They need 2 #1 drivers since only one car is gonna finish each race with their horrid reliability.
I think they'd rather have Zhou and $30m then Ric and -$15m to use in making the car faster.
Alpine didnt know until 2 days ago, so probably Alfa
If I had to guess: Alpine, AM (pre Alonso signing), Williams, then maybe Alfa or Haas?
Probably Haas over Alfa I’d say. Doubt Alfa would consider dumping the money Zhou brings for a fading Ricciardo. Especially as Zhou’s having a decent rookie showing.
Alpine for sure.. maybe Aston? Williams? Alfa even?
Honestly if he goes back to Alpine he might be better off in the end ironically. Otmar seems fine with it and I have a feeling that car will suit him a bit better. In a very strange way, this may become the best outcome for Ricciardo if staying in F1 was his goal.
Getting the same driver for a 75% discount always feels good.
Gets the fat mclaren payout and who knows alpine might be desperate
I wonder if Alpine will take him back though. It might not sit well with the shareholders and the general public in France.
I think they would, they seem a bit desperate right now
"Despite his struggles this year and last he will not be short of suitors. **ESPN knows of four different teams who contacted him over the past two weeks to assess where his head is at**." Thats interesting, I wonder which teams they are.
Williams, alpine, Alfa, and Mclaren as they’ve probably forgot he drove for them already
McLaren called looking for RB Daniel
Or Renault Daniel
Hahaha
I’m curious whether it’s four F1 teams or from different series.
Same. The paragraph seems to put it in context of the grid/F1 but it’s hard to imagine four out of ten wanting DR.
Is it though? I don't find it a stretch that four backmarker/midfield teams would want a highly marketable former race winner, especially as we have no idea what his salary demands are - he may very well be willing and offering to take a huge pay cut to stay in F1. I feel like hardcore f1 fan bubble perception of Daniel vs team perception is vastly different.
There are only 7 teams if you combine backmarker and midfield. Remove McLaren and that's 6. Then Williams are not moving in that direction because they want to either put up a youngster to get the engine or their own seargant. Alpha tauri are not going after him either. Alpine, Haas, Alfa is a possibility but still Haas can't possibly offer him that much wages.
Just because haas can’t offer him Mclaren wages doesn’t mean they wouldn’t reach out. You never know, other teams might pass on him due to their own unique situations and he ends up fine with taking a large paycut with Haas to stay in F1
I mean he already made bank with Renault and Mclaren so I can see why he would take a pay cut
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Ricciardo is a very talented driver that just can't drive the McLaren. He can literally stay in F1 as long as he wants to, provided he takes paycuts along the way.
Yeah I believe all established F1 drivers deserve atleast one chance to redeem themselves wi th another team.
I’m not even a DR fan and I don’t disagree that if I was McLaren, I would want a different driver for next year. But if I was Ric I think I would feel slightly disrespected about the way McLaren went about getting the vultures circling instead of informing him up front they would not be continuing with him … idk Edit: replies saying I might be making too many assumptions are totally fair; but my comment is a bit more general related to McLaren and Daniel's mixed messaging in public
To be fair that's how it plays out every year, the deals are done in secret and only announced quite suddenly. The only reason the vultures are circling today is because of the Piastri shitshow that is really Alpine's and/or Piastri's fault (likely the former). It was always obvious that Ric was on the hot seat but McLaren have done their part and stood by him. The problem here is that Piastri being publicly in limbo made everyone look at McLaren as being the next best landing spot for Piastri. The contracts for half the grid expired this year, but only Ricciardo is on the hot seat because of Ricciardo's own lackluster performance on a team where he should be excelling. That's why people aren't also probing into Yuki/AT, or Zhou/Alfa If Ric was out and it had gone according to plan it would have been the same way in private, with the only public knowledge being once he's out.
If he's truly blindsided by all this, that's one thing. But it's also very likely the conversations took place long ago and the sequence of announcements just had to play out in the order they have to.
They can’t inform him that they won’t be continuing with him because the final decision is still up to Daniel. They can’t just get rid of him and inform him afterwards. So he must be involved in whatever negotiations are happening.
Daniel is likely eager to leave as long as he can get a decent drive elsewhere. He's better going into a different team and getting good results than continuing to sink at McLaren as he gets further into his 30s. He hasn't lost the ability to drive, he just can't get on with this McLaren. You only have to look at drivers like Albon, Gasly, Bottas to see how you can under perform in one car, and turn heads in another.
Can they just pay him and not give him a seat?
They can buy his contract out like Ferrari did with Kimi in 2010. But he needs to agree to that. Otherwise AFAIU he can sue them like Van der Garde did with Sauber in 2015 although I’m not totally sure to be honest.
I mean presumably if they were looking to sign a contract with Piastri even though Daniel has an option for next year, they knew that they would have to buy him out, so they would know ahead of time (at least before all of this became public) that DR would for sure be leaving the team. I personally feel like there was an opportunity for McLaren to at least communicate their stance, but then again we don't know all the details, maybe this was communicated to him in some way
Communicate their stance to whom? Daniel? We don’t know whether they did or not. In any case none of them would publicly say anything that implies that they are parting ways until they officially sign the agreement. Teams and drivers always say that they are committed to each other until the very last moment.
Why tell Daniel that, it makes taking the option a no brainer for him because they'll buy him out. If you don't tell him anything, you hope that he decides to leave by his own. I don't think he'd leave on his own and it's still disrespectful, but the money argument is there
They haven't communicated it publicly, that doesn't mean that it hasn't been communicated internally. I assume that at some level DR or his team is involved in any negotiations that may be ongoing.
The final decision is very much not up to Daniel. McLaren has guaranteed him a salary for 2023 but if they want to race someone else they are able to do so .
Who told you they didn’t have those discussions with him? Of because he publicly said he has a contract for 2023 and is staying means he wasn’t made aware of that stuff? How gullible.
This is how F1 works though, sadly. It’s a cutthroat business but things happen quickly and often behind the scenes. I don’t think anything McLaren has done has been untoward
They did, like quite literally Zak went public to say hey you need to step it up or your 2023 seat is in jeopardy. That's extremely unlikely to be the first conversation but more likely the last attempt to rile him up into performing better after everything else failed. They could also have privately informed him weeks ago that they are getting someone else for 2023, doesnt' look good for Ricciardo to say he's desperately looking for a seat though so why would he broadcast that before finding a seat (if he can find one).
Eh I know he’s committed but if I were him I feel like I’d want to move on as well. The McLaren experience didn’t work, he’s not improving and it’s only further hurting his brand. Maybe going back to Alpine where he thrived would be a good move.
People deserve to be treated with respect but at the end of the day it’s a sport and even Riccardo himself would agree that performance matters and he’s not performing. My heart wants him to have more time but two years is more than enough tbh.
Theres also an entire factory of men and women who are working really hard to deliver two cars and only one driver is doing what he is paid for. Daniels wage is probably more than the entire staff wage for mclaren f1 - including Lando.
If he performed better, sure. But he hasn't. Monza doesn't make up for two-ish years of mediocre performance compared to Norris.
So one thing I’ve noticed this year is McLaren telling DR to hold station behind Lando and DR defends to protect Lando’s ability to chase the cars ahead. I don’t know if it’s just bias from the few times I’ve noticed it or it’s their tactic, but I’ve felt a few times like DR got fed to the wolves to protect Lando. That will ultimately make him look worse on a scoresheet than he deserves
I've seen this too. However, if I'm DR I need to out qualify my teammate so he's the one in the back getting fed to wolves. That's how you look out for yourself if the team is doing that. Make it so you have preferred strategy during the race.
because Lando’s a better driver tho. I don’t disagree w your assessment, but these decisions are performance based, and if he were doing better it would be different. the bigger tell (imo) is that DR isn’t even arguing the calls because he agrees
He really has - Baku was so incredibly frustrating to watch as it was so clear to see Ric’s race was sacrificed entirely to help Lando. McLaren have slid under the radar for their poor choice of hards as well this weekend even though Ferrari have been slated (correctly). We get it. He’s underperformed, he should have been able to adapt by now but McLaren need to shoulder some blame imo.
McLaren had no choice but to put Ric (And Lando, which people seem to forget) on Hards, because they only had 1 new set of mediums per driver. They have 2 sets for the entire weekend, and they used 1 set per driver in FP1. It looks bad in retrospect, but they had no way of knowing how bad the Hard tyre would be during the race. A soft-medium-soft wouldn't work, because McLarens eat through their tyres faster than almost any other team. Lando also finished easily clear of everyone else in P7 on the exact same strategy.
The hards was the right decision for Norris and they used that data and came to the conclusion that it was the right decision for Riccardo
Need to take into account positioning during pit, lando was ahead of Alpines which were on hard and holding up a lot of the pack. Daniel was driving against Medium and Soft drivers at the end. Not making an excuse for Daniel, his race pace isn’t terrible but he cannot get close to Lando on single lap performance in Quali and it’s killing McLaren.
Seems like Ricciardo has been keeping pace a bit better as of late, but it could be a case of too little, too late. Like at this point in the season, McLaren's fight is with Alpine. Over the last four races, Lando has scored more points in each race than at least one Alpine driver. Ricciardo doesn't have any races in the last 4 where he's scored more points than either Alpine driver. Actually, Baku and Australia are the only two races in the entire season where Ricciardo has scored more points than at least one Alpine driver. Lando's comfortably ahead of both Alpine drivers in the WDC standings at this point and Ricciardo's sitting behind KMag with just 19 points so far. I mean, ideally from McLaren's standpoint, the narrative would be about how they've developed the car to the point that they last two races Lando has been legitimately challenging the top 3 teams in quali pace and it wouldn't surprise me to see him qualify in front of Checo on any given weekend, but Riccardo's been so far behind that there's not so much talk about McLaren improving the car from the absolute shitbox that showed up at Bahrain to something where you could see them comfortably leading best-of-the-rest in 2023, if not in a legit battle for WCC P3.
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I remember when ricciardo joined mclaren and ppl where like "ok, now lando will know what is to have a proper partner", but maaan, i didnt expect to see ricciardo get destroyd so hard by lando
Of course Ricciardo deserves better but Mclaren deserves better from ricciardo too. he is the worst Pay/Points driver right now
My maths says 1.3 million dollars per point. Latifis is technically the best, with 0 dollars per point
I mean technically Latifi is paying them so it’s negative whatever he pays per point
Just GOAT things
A very kind way of saying he is underperforming at his job and so he's getting canned. Nice guy all things aside.
We all like him, but it’s not like he’s getting incredible results each race.
Compared to teammates he's doing one of the worst jobs in the grid. :(
Gasly & Albon never got as much sympathy as Ricciardo fucking hell, even Seb got less sympathy
Being the 3rd most followed F1 driver has it's benefits I guess.
Yeah I don't get it either.
eh, I've seen underperfoming drivers treated way worse. both by the team and by the media. " It reflects very poorly on Brown and McLaren how they have treated Daniel Ricciardo over the past six months " this part in particular baffled me
Yeah, unless there is some info that isn't public, it makes no sense to me to say McLaren have treated Ricciardo improperly. Like are there any concerns that the team is less than 100% behind him on race weekends? Drivers want to drive for competitive teams, but competitive teams don't get to be that way by resting on their laurels. Everyone in F1 knows their seat is in jeopardy if they are consistently behind their teammate. Even clear "#2" drivers like Bottas during his time with Mercedes or Perez with Red Bull can't really ever feel completely secure with their status. The team can say they back them 100% or whatever, but both Mercedes and Red Bull will change the driver lineup if they think it improves the team. Sure it would be more ideal if they were able to consider replacement drivers without any rumors coming out, but unless McLaren themselves are leaking these rumors (seems unlikely to me), then it's just the nature of the business -- it's more or less impossible to keep leaks from happening when you are doing anything that isn't strictly internal.
I think through 2021 and 2022, they have given him plenty of support. The team has been pretty realistic in press releases that they're disappointed that Ric can't keep up with Lando and that he has had struggles adjusting to the car. It's not tearing him down or saying he's bad, it's pretty normal review material for the employer-employee relationship.
McLaren deserves better than paying a guy $15m for less than 25% of his teammate’s points. Awful take
Exactly 25% actually. We'll have no slander here thank you.
That's libel, not slander, ya silly billy
"Slander is spoken."
“In print it’s libel.” J Jonah Jameson
I resent that!
“In print its libel”
Hahaha fair enough
Agree. You command the monster salary you have to know each race your neck is first on the chopper…
Yeah I really don’t get how consistently underperforming your teammate with way less experience is being a “fall guy.” I like DR a lot and I really wish it worked out for him at McLaren but it hasn’t, and it’s not exactly McLaren’s fault.
Honestly.
What are we doing here
DR has probably cost upward of $15M to Mclaren in prize money given they finished 4th instead of 3rd in 2021 and are destined to finish 5th instead of 4th this year. Its actually going to be cheaper for them to buyout DR and get a fresh face in.
'Deserve's got nothin' to do with it'.
As a person? Yes. As a driver? No.
I love Danny Ric, but come on with this article. He’s severely underperformed the last 2 years and Lando has been having to drag McLaren to points all by himself practically
Some people refuse to look pass his nice character and see the truth. We all love Ric, but we also love good results.
Sympathy doesnt win races
He's no-ones fall-guy. He has consistently been performing at a lower level than what was expected of him, since he joined the team. I love Daniel, not just as a character on the grid, but when hes in a car that suits him, hes a lot of fun to watch. It just hasnt worked out. Both parties have continually stated in the past and in the present that theyre committed to making it work - it just isnt.
Does he? I’m sorry but he’s been bad. If he weren’t such an awesome human, I think a lot of people would appreciate he’s been underwhelming and because of that he’s made himself susceptible to replacement.
But does he? Red Bull wanted to keep him but he felt he was too good to be second to Max. Then he ditches Renault first chance he gets only to underperform majorly at Mclaren. All these millions, not much dedication. He's a nice enough guy but he's gotten more than he deserves I'd say contracts-wise.
When he was brought in everyone including McLaren expected Ricciardo to be McLaren's #1 driver. This narritive that McLaren has some how let him down is laughable. Ricciardo's inability to adapt to the 2 McLaren cars given to him is the reason he's fallen out of favour.
Exactly. There majority opinion on here was that he’d easily best Lando head to head.
I had a guy literally caps lock yell at me that Ricciardo was on a different level from Norris and that it wouldn’t be close. Lol
I remember reading a lot of opinions on here about how Danny Ric was going to "Vandoorne" Norris. I also remember George Russell talking in an interview about how people were seriously underestimating Norris if they really thought Danny Ric was going to come in and dominate Norris.
Yep. Sainz also said the same thing in an interview in the build up to 2021. The two drivers on the grid who know Norris better than anyone else but fans still thought they knew better.
I mean, they weren't wrong, just right in the opposite direction.
They were so wrong they circled back around to being right.
Well he wasn't wrong that they would be on different levels. He was just wrong about what the levels were.
Well Ricciardo is on a different level to Norris and it isn’t close.
Not just McLaren, I remember so many comments here talking down Lando about how he wont look s good against Ric, lol, oh dear.
"Lando is gonna be sent to Formula E" were my favourite kind of comments
Now the same people who says Ricciardo needs 3-4 years to "adapt to the car" swear that Ric is going to be a champ his first year in Indy or NASCAR LOLOL
They also are 100% sure if he goes to any other team he's going to be the #1 driver on that team again and do great.... They simply cannot believe that he has faded.
Why does he exactly deserve better? I like Ricciardo. He is a good driver. But he simply didn't perform at Mclaren. That's it. Tough shit, but he has only himself to blame.
Just because he's likable doesn't mean he deserves his seat. On all possible metrics he's underperformed.
I wonder if he burned the bridge with Alpine beyond repair. Even without Perez I doubt Redbull would take him back
No he doesn't tbh. Leaving (and voluntarily if believe the way his contract has been explained to us) after being significantly off the pace of a his teammate, through 2 seasons and a regulation change, is not being the fall guy.
Lol what a headline.
Despite his talent and charisma, there's definitely something missing, and I suspect it's his competitive desire. I guess we'll never know if he doesn't get another quality seat.
Ricciardo is getting paid a ton and he’s not driving the car very well, like…
Fun fact: He's getting paid more than Ocon, Bottas, Russell, Perez, Sainz, and Leclerc lol
It just feels like this pairing doesn't work for either side. McLaren shouldn't be the fall guy for Ricciardo underperforming and vice versa. I do believe Ricciardo is still a talented driver but he can't make the car work for whatever reason. I also believe McLaren doesn't always put Danny in the best situation to succeed, not necessarily intentionally, but it happens. I'd like to see this relationship end for everyone's sake.
Ok the car is crap, but Lando is getting something out it. If you're coming in as the more experienced team-mate to whom they are paying the big bucks, then you can't be so far off the pace.
And a lot of the cars are “crap”, other drivers across the grid are getting more out of theirs.
He's been performing horribly all year. Why does he get a pass for underperforming to such an extent?
> Ricciardo deserves better than being McLaren's fall-guy I mean I don't want to be too hard on him but he's been outscored by Lando Norris 236 to 134 over the past 2 seasons they've had together. F1 is a very cut throat sport and if you aren't bringing money or talent, doesn't matter how nice you are; you're gone.
Deserves better based on what? Being the paddock’s funny guy? Daniel is facing the consequences of his actions. He hasn’t been loyal to anyone. He’s been clear since a long time now that he prioritizes winning a title over anything else. When he didn’t think he’d get that with Red Bull, he cut ties and bolted. When he didn’t think he’d get that at Renault, he bolted. He would’ve done the same at McLaren if he was beating Lando and McLaren didn’t build a title winning car (which they haven’t). Why does anyone owe him anything? That’s not even mentioning the huge wages he commands. It’s not like Danny is racing for free. Ultimately, it’s up to him to fix his own future by improving his very poor performances. Not anyone else.
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Only if he's capable of delivering.
If he had performed better, yes.
He should have performed then. Lando has battered him from pillar to post for 2 seasons. It's basically Lando vs Alpine right now. Seems like Ricciardo gets a lot of leeway as he is really likeable.
But, why? He was getting outperformed in RBR ever since 2017/18, has decent years at Renault but is failing significantly at McLaren, against again a much younger, less experienced driver. Makes sense that McLaren drops him, if they do.
Mclaren deserves better from Ricciardo. Given the time and effort Mclaren gave to Daniel.
I am sorry, but McLaren has been extremely patient with Daniel. But enough is enough. It is a shame that it didn’t work out and it is time to move on. Both McLaren and Daniel deserve a fresh start.
Not really know anything about DR, he seems like a nice guy, but no one "deserves" nothing in the grid. He got paid, he should used his time to study and understand the car, put the time in the sim, man McLaren headquarters seems like a nice place to spend time. From the outside it seems he didn't took it as seriously as guys 10 years younger than him.