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McLaren might be looking at alternatives for Daniel Ricciardo as soon as his contract expires in 2024 or earlier. That is according to respected F1 journalist Joe Saward.
Joe wrote on his blog that there might be testing times ahead for Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren. Zak Brown is very impressed with Indycar sensation Colton Herta and looking at the American prospect as a way to enter the American market. In his blog, Joe wrote:
"Australians are pretty excited about F1 at the moment, although Daniel Ricciardo seems a little lost at McLaren and there continue to be rumours that in 2024 (if not earlier) Daniel will be replaced by Colton Herta, the American who Zak Brown believes could open the gates of Formula 1 to corporate America. "
Joe did say that the potential Ricciardo replacement, Colton Herta, has been a bright prospect in Indycar. It still remains to be seen if he can be a star in F1, especially because it is a full-time job and won't provide him with the avenue to continue in his rock band pursuits.
"We will have to see if Herta has everything needed to be an F1 star, but he seems to have the speed, whether he can go on being a drummer in a rock band called Zibs in his spare time remains to be seen, as F1 is a fulltime job."
Daniel Ricciardo going through a rough phase in McLaren
Life at McLaren has not been the best for Ricciardo. The Australian made his way to the team in 2021 and since then his pairing with Lando Norris has not been fruitful for Daniel. Norris has hit his stride in F1 and as a result, Ricciardo and his inability to adapt to the McLaren machinery has been exposed more and more.
Last season the Australian had only 115 points to his name compared to the 160 points scored by Norris and even this season, the gap between the two drivers has been quite visible with the Australian having only 11 points to his name as compared to the 35 points for Norris (to add to a podium).
Ricciardo has been a perrenial frontrunner in F1 over the last few years. He will need to regain that form if he wishes to continue his stay with the team beyond 2024.
