2 years ago
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Daniel Ricciardo has already conceded helium won't beryllium connected the Formula 1 grid successful 2023, alternatively indicating he'll instrumentality a twelvemonth disconnected earlier targeting a instrumentality to the athletics successful 2024.
But for Australian fans the world is overmuch bleaker. There's each accidental the curtain volition travel down connected his vocation for bully astatine this year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Ricciardo was dumped by McLaren successful favour of chap Australian Oscar Piastri, contempt the 33-year-old having different play to tally connected his contract.
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That came aft 18 months of struggles against Lando Norris, who has near Ricciardo good and genuinely successful his wake. Since the commencement of the 2021 season, Norris has outscored Ricciardo 261-144.
The anticipation exists that Ricciardo volition instrumentality a 3rd operator relation astatine Mercedes, a akin presumption that Piastri has filled astatine Alpine this year.
But that appears to beryllium a dead-end role. George Russell is successful the archetypal twelvemonth of a "multi-year" declaration with the team, and Lewis Hamilton has precocious been making noises astir extending his deal, which expires adjacent year.
So scratch Mercedes arsenic an enactment for 2024.
Likewise Red Bull, which has some Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez nether declaration for astatine slightest different 2 years.
It's the aforesaid astatine Ferrari, wherever Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are already locked successful for 2024.
That's the 3 champion teams taken attraction of.
Further down, McLaren has Norris and Piastri sorted for 2024, and they've conscionable sacked Ricciardo, truthful they're hardly apt to privation him back.
Ricciardo's erstwhile team, Alpine, has conscionable signed Pierre Gasly connected a multi-year woody to spouse Esteban Ocon, who's contracted until 2024.
At Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso is astir to commencement a multi-year contract, and Lance Stroll's begetter owns the team, truthful he's improbable to beryllium vacating that spot immoderate clip soon.
Williams and Haas some person unfastened seats for 2023, but if Ricciardo didn't privation to thrust for them adjacent year, wherefore would it beryllium immoderate antithetic the pursuing season?
So that's 8 of the 10 teams accounted for.
At AlphaTauri, Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries are some off-contract astatine the extremity of 2023, but it would beryllium a spot harsh to driblet de Vries aft conscionable a azygous season. The Dutchman is astir to crook 28, it makes nary consciousness for a squad charged with processing drivers for Red Bull to spouse de Vries with Ricciardo.
Which leaves conscionable Alfa Romeo. Zhou Guanyu has conscionable re-signed for different year, and the nonstop presumption of Valtteri Bottas' woody is unknown. A Bottas-Ricciardo operation would beryllium ridiculous, 2 drivers successful their mid-thirties who've had their clip astatine the front.
When Ricciardo near what was the Renault squad (now Alpine) to articulation McLaren, his erstwhile squad brag Cyril Abiteboul said that helium had "full assurance helium volition regret his decision."
Sadly, Abiteboul has been proven 100 per cent correct, and unless thing retired of left-field eventuates, we person to judge that Ricciardo's career, truthful promising a decennary ago, volition extremity unfulfilled erstwhile helium steps retired of the McLaren for the last clip adjacent month.
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