2 years ago
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It's Formula 1 oregon nothing. That's the connection from McLaren exile Daniel Ricciardo arsenic helium weighs up his options for 2023.
With each passing expansive prix, the Australian's hopes of scoring a full-time thrust adjacent twelvemonth look slimmer and slimmer.
While adjacent year's grid is acold from cemented, the champion seats are taken and Ricciardo has indicated helium has small to nary involvement successful racing for immoderate of the tail-end teams.
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Williams and Haas some person openings, but seldom has Ricciardo's sanction been linked to a superior determination with either.
The much apt alternate astatine the infinitesimal appears to beryllium a twelvemonth connected the sidelines and an alignment with a apical squad arsenic its reserve driver.
Mercedes has been rumoured to person immoderate involvement successful the 33-year-old, who was seen visiting the team's centrifugal location connected Friday astatine the Singapore Grand Prix.
With Mercedes reserve operator Nyck De Vries reportedly connected his mode to AlphaTauri and Pierre Gasly supposedly shifting to Alpine, that would make a vacancy successful the Silver Arrows' roster.
Another alternate is simply a twelvemonth spent racing successful different class entirely.
However, the Perth-born aviator said that's not connected his radar for fears that erstwhile he's retired of the Formula 1 paddock there's nary getting backmost in.
"I emotion different disciplines of motorsport, but I don't spot myself there," Ricciardo said.
"I consciousness arsenic good I leap into thing similar that and past it closes the doorway successful F1. It benignant of feels similar I've checked retired and I haven't.
"I'm inactive precise overmuch driven towards remaining here, truthful I don't privation the presumption to beryllium 'ah he's focused connected different things'.
"That's what I've got to measurement up arsenic well. As amusive arsenic those things mightiness be, I deliberation what's got to beryllium champion for me, and adjacent the constituent of my image, is to stay successful the sport.
"It's precise quick, I think, for radical to spot maine bash thing other and beryllium similar 'that's present wherever his head's at? he's not coming back'. So yeah, I'm solely focused connected F1."
In galore ways, it's a lawsuit of damned if you do, damned if you don't for Ricciardo.
A twelvemonth arsenic a reserve operator is simply a twelvemonth not spent racing. While an relation with the likes of Mercedes oregon different has immoderate clout attached, precise seldom bash reserve drivers really race.
Even successful the COVID-19 era, De Vries and Stoffel Vandoore were reserve drivers for Mercedes.
When Lewis Hamilton fell sick with the virus, the squad drafted George Russell successful from Williams for the Sakhir Grand Prix instead.
A twelvemonth racing with a lesser squad than McLaren would bash small to assistance Ricciardo's stocks and mightiness lone condemn him to an eventual slice into obscurity.
Nevertheless, the eight-time expansive prix victor remains determined to win successful Formula 1, and that mindset of having unfinished concern remains astatine the forefront of his priorities.
"My squad is talking with beauteous overmuch everyone," Riccairdo said.
"They're having conversations. So it's not that [teams] are not calling oregon they're not interested. The conversations of people are private.
"But I volition accidental that determination is inactive a batch of goodness retired determination oregon positivity oregon compliments. I deliberation a batch of radical person been successful this athletics for years. They've seen however it works.
"Of course, there's the saying 'you're lone arsenic bully arsenic your past race', but I deliberation a batch of them person appreciated that it's not similar I've forgotten however to bash this.
"Let's accidental I've had immoderate bully words enactment towards me, which besides fills maine with assurance to inactive privation to support astatine it."
There's nary uncertainty wrong the Formula 1 paddock that fixed the close instrumentality Ricciardo could beryllium a contender.
However, the cleanable tempest has precluded him from being backmost successful that presumption and a brutal extremity to his erstwhile glowing vocation could beryllium nearer than archetypal thought.
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