Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo said Saturday that he will not have a full-time seat for the 2023 Formula One season and will focus his efforts on landing a ride for 2024.
Ricciardo, who made his F1 debut in 2011 and has eight Grand Prix victories, was signed to a two-year deal with McLaren that ran through 2023, before the final year of his contract was terminated in August by what was labeled as a “mutual agreement.”
Ricciardo, 33, came to terms with his fate for 2023 after vacant seats started to fill. Pierre Gasly moved from AlphaTauri to Alpine, with Nyck De Vries filling Gasly’s vacant seat. Just two vacant seats remain for 2023 with Ricciardo not rumored to be in line for either one.
“To be honest, the Gasly news I was aware of, I knew they were talking for a while and I knew though they were very interested in Pierre,” Ricciardo said, according to The Telegraph. “Let’s say I was prepared for that and no surprise, so we were trying to, let’s say, navigate our way around that and figure out what was next.”
Ricciardo could end up in the United States on the IndyCar circuit, or he could end up with Mercedes as an F1 reserve driver.
“Certainly the plan is still to be involved in F1,” Ricciardo said. “It’s kind of like just hitting pause for a little bit as I see it. And let’s say, as far as my F1 career goes, the full intention is (to be driving) for ’24.”
–Field Level Media