Earlier this year, McLaren announced that Alpine junior driver Oscar Piastri will be driving for the British outfit from 2023. There was so much more to this news, as Alonso departed Alpine, and Alpine announced Piastri will be driving for the team as well, but after a contract war between the two teams, McLaren won Piastri's services, and Ricciardo's departure from the team was confirmed. As this situation developed late into the 2022 season, Ricciardo had very few options left for 2023. He was contracted with McLaren for 2023 season as well, but in a bid to replace him with Piastri, the team decided to trigger the buyout clause in Ricciardo's contract.
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2021 Formula 2 champion & Alpine junior driver Oscar Piastri will join McLaren in 2023.
One of the few seats left was at Alpine. Daniel Ricciardo did race for the team for 2 seasons - in its Renault guise - after he left Red Bull at the end of 2018, and while there were some strings that were broken when he moved to McLaren in 2021, there was still a chance for him to race with the team.
Daniel Ricciardo raced for Renault in 2019 & 2020.
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However, this chance has since disappeared, as Pierre Gasly has signed a multi-year deal with Alpine starting from 2023. AlphaTauri also announced Gasly's replacement right away, as ex-Formula 2 champion & Formula E World Champion Nyck de Vries is set to join the team next year. This has left Ricciardo with only 2 options to stay in Formula 1, as there is 1 seat each at Haas and Williams.
Pierre Gasly will join Esteban Ocon at Alpine to make an all-French line up at the French team.
These two teams though would be a huge step down for the Australian, who left Red Bull in 2018 in hopes to land a seat that could contest for the World Championship. Not just that, both of those seats are heavily contested, with Mick Schumacher, Logan Sargeant, Nico Hulkenberg, and some other drivers in the running for the two seats. This leaves Daniel Ricciardo with no options left for 2023, and he has promptly addressed this to the media, cutting off any further speculations.
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2022 Formula E champion de Vries is set to make his full time F1 debut in 2023 at AlphaTauri.
“We were trying to navigate our way round that and figure out what was next, but I think the reality now is I won’t be on the grid in [2023]," Ricciardo said. “I think it’s now just trying to set-up for [2024], I think there could be some better opportunities then, so that’s really what all this confirms and now where the sights are set.” “Certainly the plan is still to be involved in F1, and this is kind of like just hitting pause for a little bit. That’s the way I see it as far as my F1 career goes", he added.
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Ricciardo will look for a reserve driver role for 2023, as he eyes a 2024 return to the F1 grid.
There are few other options for Ricciardo as well. What would be ideal for him would be a reserve/development driver role for a top team in 2023. Mercedes had Nyck de Vries as its reserve driver for 2022, and with him joining AlphaTauri in 2023, there's a potential opening in the team. But we will have to wait and see how the driver market shapes up for 2024, and if Ricciardo can find himself a full time seat on the grid. The Australian however is optimistic to find a Formula 1 seat in 2024, and isn't looking for a seat outside of F1 just yet.
