Ricciardo didn’t want to take any risks with Haas and Williams in 2023
Daniel Ricciardo will not be on the grid in 2023. The Australian driver had two options to continue as a regular Formula 1 driver, going to Williams or Haas. However, he saw these choices as major risks.
After two up-and-down seasons at McLaren, where he failed to adapt to his car, the English team terminated the Australian’s contract before it expired. There were only two options left for Daniel Ricciardo to be on the starting grid in 2023. However, in order to maintain a chance of returning to a more competitive team in the future, he did not seize those opportunities.
A too significant risk.
Daniel Ricciardo will stay in Formula 1 in 2023 as the third driver for Red Bull and will not be on the grid. This role allows him to maintain a close connection with Formula 1 and evolve within a top team, but he could have been a regular driver at Haas or Williams.
Indeed, when it was announced that Oscar Piastri would replace him for 2023, there were still three seats available for the next season.
The Alpine seat was out of reach, however, the other two teams did not close their doors to the Australian driver. Ricciardo did not choose the latter because he considered them to involve too many risks in terms of performance. He would have probably ended his career after an unfruitful season with Haas or Williams.
« I think it is rather risky to take just any seat next year, and as we saw during my time at McLaren, there are no guarantees when it comes to performance.
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If, for whatever reason, I had to experience a relatively unsuccessful campaign, then I think that personally, I would probably be done with this sport.
