McLaren To "Split Ways" With Daniel Ricciardo At End of Season

 

McLaren has announced their decision to terminate Daniel Ricciardo's contract at the end of the season following what the team perceived to be an unacceptable performance from the Australian compared.

Ricciardo joined the racing team from Renault in 2021 to replace Carlos Sainz who went on to replace Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari team. So far in his spell in the British racing team, he has only won a race, Italian Grand Prix in 2021 which he confessed was the biggest in his career. 

"I have no regrets and am proud of the effort and work I gave McLaren, especially the win in Monza, last season," he said. 

McLaren have not unveiled their driver's lineup for the F1 2023 season but have comfirmed the signing of F2 champion and Alpine reserve, Oscar Piastri. However, the team boss Andreas Seidl believed to "split ways" with Ricciardo is the "right thing" for both parties. 

"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," Andreas added. 

The 33-year-old, who was signed to a two year contract is currently ranked number 12 with 19 points  in driver's standing this season. Meanwhile, his team mate, Lando Norris is ranked 7th with 76 points.