Haas F1 team boss Guenther Steiner says Daniel Ricciardo wanted a lot of money to stay on the F1 grid for 2023. After two disappointing years at McLaren, former Red Bull race winner Daniel Ricciardo, now 33, has been released.
Ultimately, Daniel Ricciardo returned to Red Bull for 2023 as a brand ambassador, but not as a full-time reserve. He only accompanies the Grand Prix about eight times. For example, he will be absent from the F1 Bahrain GP, which marks the opening round of the 2023 F1 World Championship. There is a theory that after 12 seasons in F1, Daniel Ricciardo has fallen out of love with racing. That claim appears to have been reinforced by Gunther Stanner’s confirmation that Daniel Ricciardo was a potential replacement for Mick Schumacher in 2023. Nico Hulkenberg eventually won this seat. Asked last season why a short talk with Daniel Ricciardo had broken down, Gunther Steiner said: “I don’t know, ask him.” Daniel Ricciardo even said a Williams seat “could be available” for 2023, but ultimately preferred the current plan, which is better for the “long term” future. But another possibility is that if Daniel Ricciardo had accepted a race seat for 2023, McLaren wouldn’t have had to pay him the final year of his multi-million dollar salary under contract. In the upcoming edition of Drive to Survive, Haas boss Steiner contemplates who his Danish teammate will be in 2023 as he talks with Kevin Magnussen. The scene is shown. ‘How about Ricciardo?’ suggested Kevin Magnussen. ‘I can’t afford that, Kevin. He’s asking for $10 million, at least.’ Stanner replied. According to RacingNews365’s estimated 2023 F1 driver salaries, Kevin Magnussen is at $5 million and Nico Hulkenberg at his $2 million.