Camila Vega
McLaren has signed Lando Norris to a long-term contract until the end of 2025, but the team are considering their options for the second seat, currently occupied by Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian has struggled to match Norris since joining McLaren in 2021 and there are doubts over his future with the team.
Although Ricciardo’s contract with McLaren is set to run for another 18 months, speculation is gathering around his future with the team. McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown admitted last month that Ricciardo has not lived up to expectations in his time with the team.
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According to reports, McLaren is “considering” its options regarding Ricciardo’s future if the Australian driver decides to leave F1 after this season. There were high hopes for the team when they poached Ricciardo from Renault last year as a replacement for Carlos Sainz. However, apart from a first F1 win at the Italian Grand Prix since May 2018, Ricciardo has struggled for consistency.
The Italian-Australian driver finished last season among the top-10 only twice in the last seven races of the campaign. Lando Norris regularly finished ahead in both qualifying and the Sunday races, only falling outside the top-10 once in all the races he finished. By his own admission, Ricciardo entered the 2022 campaign hoping for better results, but the team has taken a step back this year. In other words, it has gone backwards.
The Australian has scored points just three times and is 12th in the standings, while Norris has continued to impress. McLaren CEO Zak Brown recently spoke about Ricciardo’s low performances, hinting that there are “mechanisms” in place for a replacement to come in.
Brown said at the Canadian Grand Prix: “Daniel is very motivated. He has our full support. We are here to try to get to the front. We’ve had some incredible weekends, like Monza, and then some disappointing weekends.”
“I don’t think we’re giving our drivers a car yet that is capable of being up front on a regular basis. So we’ve got to do that. And you know, we have a great relationship and I just gave an honest answer to a question about how things are going. Things could be going better, but we’re going to work hard and make sure they do in the future.”
McLaren is said to be exploring options for 2023 should Ricciardo decide he does not want to continue in F1. One possibility is a move for British-Thai driver Alex Albon, who has impressed on his return to the grid this year with Williams after a year out as Red Bull’s reserve in 2021.
Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, who is with Aston Martin this year and is free to move next season, has also been mentioned in connection with the team.
Thus, we must wait until the season progresses to define with certainty whether Ricciardo will continue with McLaren or whether Vettel will join the Formula 1 team.
