Daniel Ricciardo caught on camera telling Sergio Perez he will take a year out after McLaren split
McLaren dropped Ricciardo for next year and have signed 2021 Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri
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Your support makes all the difference.Daniel Ricciardo seems to have revealed what his plans are for the future after being dropped by McLaren - with a year away from the sport looking likely.
The 33-year-old’s contract with the team was cut short a year early, leaving Ricciardo currently without a drive for 2023 after McLaren decided to sign 2021 Formula 2 champion and fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri.
Ricciardo has endured a miserable season and is 13th in the Championship Standings, 62 points behind team-mate Lando Norris, and is looking for a way to extend his 11-year career in Formula 1.
However, in conversation with Sergio Perez on their way to the grid for the Dutch Grand Prix, Ricciardo seems to reveal his plan by saying to the Mexican “take year off and come back in 2024” - though the whole conversation is not clearly discernible.
There is currently a seat free at Renault-owned Alpine, but Ricciardo left Renault after two years at the end of the 2020 season to join McLaren.
AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly is the frontrunner to land the Alpine seat alongside Esteban Ocon, with Haas’ Mick Schumacher also linked with the drive.
That would leave Ricciardo short of options and speaking before last week’s Belgian Grand Prix, the popular Aussie did not rule out taking a one-year sabbatical.
On whether he would take a year out in 2023, he said: “If it made sense, yes. If it made sense. It’s the only racing I’m interested in, this stage of my career Formula 1 is the one I see.
“If the stars don’t align and it doesn’t make perfect sense and I need to take time to re-evaluate, then that’s what I need to do.”
Ricciardo will be in action at Monza this weekend in the Italian Grand Prix; a race he won in 2021 as he spearheaded a McLaren one-two.
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