Former F1 world champion Damon Hill says F1 team managers will ask themselves if Daniel Ricciardo is still fast enough before extending his career.
Daniel Ricciardo’s future is in flux after being kicked out of the McLaren F1 team with 2023 remaining in the final year of his contract.
McLaren have instead opted to give Ricciardo’s fellow Australian rookie Oscar Piastri the chance to make his F1 debut as Lando Norris’ teammate.
With the driver market evolving rapidly, the options for Daniel Ricciardo to stay on the grid next season are running out. Reports suggest that Ricciardo could therefore be signed as a reserve driver in hopes of returning to F1 in 2024.
But Damon Hill doubts the 33-year-old Daniel Ricciardo’s current pace will allow him to maintain the image of being a strong enough top driver. Daniel Ricciardo’s 1 and 3/4 years at McLaren have regularly outperformed Lando Norris, with the exception of a shocking victory at the 2021 F1 Italian Grand Prix.
“Danny was such a great character for our sport, bubbly and always smiling, but something went wrong,” Damon Hill said at Sky F1.
“Not only in his pace at McLaren, but also in his strategy to get into a competitive car. Something fell through the cracks. He smelled the roses somewhere and came back and went back to the front. I hope you will come
Asked whether it would be best for Daniel Ricciardo to take 2023 off completely or stay with the team as a reserve driver, Hill said: “I think there’s some logic to that. At least in a top team. If you do, even if you’re sitting back and waiting for the right opportunity, you’ll probably get information that could potentially be useful to another team.”
“But every team, every team manager looking at him will ask, ‘Where did the pace go? do not have”
Category: F1 / Daniel Ricardo / mclaren