Still playing in Formula One’s annual musical chairs game, it appears increasingly likely that fan favorite Daniel Ricciardo will be left without a seat when the music ends.
Ricciardo is unlikely to occupy any of the remaining three positions in the 2023 F1 driver lineup, considering there are only three obvious gaps remaining. Unless anything unforeseen occurs, it appears he will leave Formula One in 2023. And if this occurs, it is likely that we will never see him drive in the series again.
Even Ricciardo sounds like he is beginning to accept his fate.
According to Fox Sports, Ricciardo remarked following the Italian Grand Prix that he has embraced the possibility that he would not be on the grid next season. “I’ve accepted that I won’t do everything, or that my [management] team won’t do everything, just to put me on the grid if it’s not right or logical.”
Later, Ricciardo said that he does not “want to simply hop into a car for the sake of it.” Although he has not yet given up, he sounds near.
Ricciardo stated, “We haven’t given up on [obtaining a place] by any means.” However, that is roughly where my mind is at the time.
In 2019 and 2020, Daniel Ricciardo raced for Renault, now known as Alpine.
Peter Fox/Getty Images
Three unfilled positions for the next season
Ricciardo’s best chance for a grid berth next season appeared to be a reunion with Alpine, which is losing Fernando Alonso to Aston Martin and saw his logical replacement, youngster Oscar Piastri, gain Ricciardo’s seat at McLaren.
Initially, Alpine (previously Renault) appeared receptive to the concept, but in recent weeks it has shifted its attention elsewhere.
The first was Pierre Gasly. The Race’s Mark Hughes and Scott Mitchell-Malm reported that Alpine agreed to buy out the final year of Pierre Gasly’s contract with AlphaTauri, allowing him to join the French team. According to Will Buxton of F1TV, this move was predicated on the FIA allowing American Colton Herta a Super License exemption, which is currently improbable.
If Alpine is unable to sign Gasly, it appears the team will turn to Jack Doohan, an Australian F2 driver and Alpine junior driver. Buxton identified him as the “frontrunner,” despite the fact that it may be a year sooner than the team would desire.
Pierre Gasly and team principal Franz Tost converse.
That leaves just Williams and Haas with open seats. Both teams are at or near the end of the grid, which may be what Ricciardo meant when he said he was searching for a favorable situation and not just choosing a car because he needed one. Both clubs appear to be leaning in a different direction.
Recent sources indicate that Antonio Giovinazzi or Nico Hulkenberg will replace Mick Schumacher at Haas. Team principal Guenther Steiner has stated that any driver with a Super License is a possibility. Recently, Buxton referred to Giovinazzi as the favorite, whilst a report from ESPN referred to Hulkenberg as the “leading prospect.”
According to Nate Saunders of ESPN, Williams was one of the teams that contacted Daniel Ricciardo about next season early on. However, they look to be focusing on either Nyck de Vries, who astonished everyone in Italy when he replaced Alex Albon, or Logan Sargeant, who is third in the F2 standings and a member of the Williams Driver Academy.
This may be the end for Ricciardo
The F1 garages have spread a notion that Ricciardo will join Mercedes as a reserve driver with the intention of replacing Lewis Hamilton if he retires after the 2024 season.
Buxton suggests that the reserve position might be kept until 2024. If accurate, Ricciardo would be off the grid for two full years between 2023 and 2024. He would be at home in 2023 and on the sidelines in 2024. At 36, Ricciardo would be well past his peak.
Ricciardo told Insider, “I’ve embraced the fact that I’m in the second phase of my career.” “Since I’ve been in F1 for 10, 11 years, I don’t believe I’ll continue for another 10, 11. Consequently, I am a senior citizen in terms of that time period.”
Kevin Magnussen has had considerable success with Haas this season after leaving the sport in 2021.
Former F1 driver and commentator Jolyon Palmer stated that Ricciardo’s career will be done if he steps away for two years.
Palmer stated at the Italian Grand Prix that if Ricciardo spends a year on the beach and then another year as a reserve driver, he will not compete in Formula One again. “Unless there is a spontaneous super-sub appearance and he happens to be wearing his helmet, there is little way he will return to full-time Formula One,” he said.