Daniel Ricciardo reveals he will NOT be in Formula 1 next season after being axed by McLaren, but Aussie insists he is only ‘hitting pause’ on his career as he vows to return to the grid in 2024
Daniel Ricciardo all but confirmed he won’t be racing in Formula One next season, admitting he will be ‘hitting pause’ on his career in the sport after losing his McLaren seat.
The Australian will leave the Woking-based team at the end of the season to be replaced by fellow Australian Oscar Piastri.
Ricciardo was under contract with McLaren until the end of the 2023 campaign but after two underwhelming seasons, the team opted to part ways ahead of schedule.
Daniel Ricciardo has confirmed he will not be in Formula 1 next year
And in a bombshell revelation on Saturday, the eight-time Grand Prix winner admitted he will not be on the grid next year.
‘I think the reality is now I won‘t be on the grid in 2023,’ he told Fox Sports after finishing 11th in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka.
‘I think it’s now just trying to set up for 2024. I think that there could be some better opportunities then, so that‘s really what all this confirms and now where the sights are set.’
Last month Ricciardo, who is set to receive a $14million pay-off from McLaren as part of the agreement, confirmed he was exploring his options ahead of next season.
Ricciardo will leave McLaren at the end of the season, a year earlier than expected
The Australian has endured two very difficult seasons with McLaren since joining in 2021
He held talks with Alpine, who were reportedly reluctant to offer him a seat after he walked away from the French team in its previous guise – when it raced under the Renault brand – in 2020 to join McLaren.
On Saturday, Alpine confirmed it had signed Pierre Gasly from AlphaTauri on a multi-year deal, leaving Williams and Haas as the only teams yet to finalise their line-ups ahead of next season.
Ricciardo acknowledged the news didn’t come as surprise.
‘I knew they were they were talking for a while and I knew though they were very interested in Pierre.
Ricciardo will be replaced at McLaren in 2023 by fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri (above)
Pierre Gasly will leave AlphaTauri and join up with Alpine for the 2023 Formula 1 season
‘Let‘s say I was prepared for that and [it was] no surprise, so we were trying to navigate our way around that and figure out what was next.’
As speculations over his future mounted over the course of the season, the 33-year-old has been linked with a switch to NASCAR and even V8 Supercars. Ricciardo, however, insisted he was not walking away from Formula 1 and would now focus on securing a seat for 2024.
‘Certainly the plan is still to be involved in Formula 1,’ he said. ‘It‘s kind of like just hitting pause for a little bit, as I see it.
‘As far as my F1 career goes, the full intention is for 2024.
The 33-year-old has insisted he is determined to return to the Formula 1 grid in 2024
‘If I feel it [racing in other series] is going to deviate away from my target, then I will still say it’s not really where I’m looking.
‘As fun or cool as it sounds to compete in something else, the truth is mentally I‘m not there yet.
‘I‘m still so, so engaged in this, and I think a bit of time off out of a seat will probably do me good. I would probably use that as opposed to trying to jump in something else and stay busy in a different category.
‘I‘d say pretty convincingly say it wouldn’t happen anywhere else.’
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