Daniel Ricciardo Will Leave McLaren And Suddenly I Don’t Care About F1 Anymore
“This isn’t the end for me, but I can’t control anything that lies ahead at the moment."
Formula One star and Australia’s sweetheart Daniel Ricciardo has announced he will leave McLaren at the end of the 2022 season, which means the team has effectively lost the support of every viewer it gained off the back of Netflix’s F1: Drive To Survive series.
In a statement released on Thursday, Ricciardo confirmed that he will not finish out his three-year contract with the team, but remained tight-lipped on where he will go next.
“It’s been a privilege to be a part of the McLaren Racing family for the last two seasons but following several months of discussions with Zak (Brown) & Andreas (Seidl) we have decided to terminate my contract with the team early and agree to mutually part ways at the end of this season,” Ricciardo said.
— Daniel Ricciardo (@danielricciardo) August 24, 2022
“From a results point of view, to consistently get the results and that form that I was after, it wasn’t always there and it made some weekends tough. I felt those.”
Team Principal at McLaren Andreas Seidl confirmed that the split was “mutual” and “the right thing for both sides” in a separate statement.
“We will never forget that memorable race win in Monza which was a great boost for the whole team,” said Seidl. “There was a contract and it needed mutual agreement to terminate it early, but after discussion with Daniel we felt it was the right thing for both sides to split ways for next year.
“If you look back at the last 18 months of our journey together, Daniel and McLaren, it’s clear we haven’t achieved the result we wanted.”
The news comes just one month after the Australian star released a statement confirming his commitment to the team amid ongoing speculation.
“There have been a lot of rumours around my future in Formula 1, but I want you to hear it from me,” said Ricciardo in July.
“I am committed to McLaren until the end of next year and am not walking away from the sport. Appreciate it hasn’t always been easy, but who wants easy! I’m working my ass off with the team to make improvements and get the car right and back to the front where it belongs.
“I still want this more than ever. See you in Le Castellet.”
It’s unclear what changed over the last few weeks that saw Ricciardo’s place in the team rendered redundant, but he remains confident this isn’t the end of his F1 career.
“This isn’t the end for me, but I can’t control anything that lies ahead at the moment. But in terms of me still having the will to compete at the highest level, that’s absolutely still in me. The last 18 months… there’s been some lows, but that will to compete hasn’t gone away,” he told The Age.
“I’m talking to teams, but I want to do this competitively, not do it just to do it. For now, I don’t know where that leaves me.”
Ricciardo has agreed to a financial settlement, but it is unclear how much he was paid for his departure.