Australian F1 Daniel Ricciardo’s profession is in limbo after the veteran driver determined to take a reserve driver position at Crimson Bull following the disastrous finish of his tenure at McLaren.
The F1 world was each shocked and unsurprised when McLaren determined to half methods with Ricciardo, regardless of having a yr left on his contract, selecting up fellow countryman Oscar Piastri in an unsightly departure from the crew.
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Ricciardo by no means spoke in poor health of his now-former crew and wished each McLaren and Piastri effectively of their future as he returned to the place all of it started at Crimson Bull.
Whereas Ricciardo is a reserve driver and must content material himself with a advertising and simulator position with the crew for subsequent season, he has not given up hope of returning to the grid full-time in 2024, though his driver profession now relies on outcomes to go his manner.
Not that it will damage his fanny pack an excessive amount of as Ricciardo is reportedly set to earn $36m subsequent season, in line with Sportune.fr, with reportedly €21m from his McLaren payout and one other €2m from his Crimson Bull deal .
4 years in the past, Ricciardo left Crimson Bull after being relegated to the second driver behind Max Verstappen, who was then a promising teen in Max Verstappen, in a season that noticed him retire eight occasions and the crew regardless of being on Honda engines ought to swap producer who has not been within the sport for a while.
The remaining is historical past as Ricciardo moved to Renault, then McLaren and Crimson Bull turned the game’s powerhouses and Verstappen a two-time champion.
Former Jordan, Crimson Bull and Cosworth chief govt Mark Gallagher has pinned the boot to Ricciardo, saying the Australian was chasing the cash when he struck a deal at Renault – which reportedly fetched between £49million and £78million over the 2 seasons amounted to US {dollars}.
“He is simply been via this barely turbulent interval since leaving Crimson Bull Racing,” Gallagher informed GP Racing Journal.
“All of us bear in mind he took that flight the place he was on the airplane and he was pondering ‘ought to I stick with Crimson Bull or ought to I’m going,’ and he determined, ‘I’ve to make the leap and go to Renault.’
“Somebody near Daniel, near Crimson Bull, stated to me shortly after, ‘He cashed in, he took the cash, he left for the massive paycheck as a result of he is aware of the World Cup is not coming to him will. It actually will not come to him at Crimson Bull as a result of Max is primary. Really, he is aware of it will not come to him at Renault, however (then Renault crew boss) Cyril Abiteboul pays him an enormous amount of cash.
“Why would not you are taking it? As a result of whenever you get into your 30s and discover that the prospect of a World Cup is dwindling, take the massive bucks. Why not? ‘Trigger that’ll fuck you up perpetually in sooner or later.
“Not solely did he handle to get that massive supply after which ship that podium end result that he and Cyril talked about, he was then lured to McLaren with one other massive paycheck.
“And naturally once more, why would not he take that? Nevertheless it was a really completely different expertise at McLaren.”
Gallagher stated when Ricciardo left Crimson Bull he was relationship supervisor Glenn Beavis earlier than the 2 had a dispute that led to an out-of-court settlement in a lawsuit.
Ricciardo is now managed by sports activities administration giants CAA and Gallagher, who questioned whether or not they had his World Cup goals at coronary heart or had been simply on the lookout for probably the most profitable alternatives.
Whereas forecasters have lengthy stated Ricciardo was silly for leaving Crimson Bull, the crew was in a state of flux on the time and lots of had been relying on the success of his partnership with Honda.
However Ricciardo, who took two podiums and a race win after leaving Crimson Bull, admitted he felt he needed to guess on himself.
Talking of F1 Past the grid Podcast, Ricciardo had no regrets in regards to the transfer, despite the fact that Verstappen had claimed 30 race wins and two world titles since leaving. Sergio Perez has three race wins and 16 podiums and Alex Albon has had two extra podiums since Ricciardo’s departure.
“I do not see it that manner as a result of nothing is for certain. If I had stayed there for the final 4 years, would I’ve had extra podium finishes than ever? What did I’ve, perhaps three or one thing? Sure, I am assured to say that I’d have had extra podiums than I had,” stated Ricciardo.
“However you simply do not know. Clearly on the time I felt prefer it was the precise factor for me. I felt like I wanted a change and I simply wanted to step again a bit. If I saved going [at Red Bull], would this urge have grown? Would I’ve been, for example, extra curious or much less completely happy or no matter?
“Unsure if it will have been nice if I stayed. I do not look again and say, ‘Man, I should not have achieved that [left]’. However after all I might be sincere with myself and say, ‘Yeah, I guess on myself a bit’.”
Initially launched when Daniel Ricciardo “cashed in” after World Cup hopes had been dashed
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