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Jacques Villeneuve believes Daniel Ricciardo's time at McLaren is coming to an end. The 1997 F1 world champion believes McLaren CEO Zak Brown's recent comments about the Australian are indicative of an upcoming 'sacking'.
The Honey Badger had yet another dismal afternoon on Sunday after failing to score points yet again in 2022. Ricciardo also had a dismal qualifying session on Saturday, having missed out on Q3. In contrast, his younger teammate Lando Norris managed to put the same car into P5 and finished the race in P6. Villeneuve feels the writing is on the wall for Ricciardo, with the team 'waiting' for an excuse to break the Australian's contract.
Speaking about Ricciardo's contract, the Canadian said:
“Daniel Ricciardo’s time at McLaren is over. CEO Zak Brown is now saying that there are clauses in his contract, and that means that a decision has almost been made. It’s a way to put the pressure on the driver and prepare the media. Ultimately, he has been a highly-paid driver who has cost the team a lot of money.”
The 51-year-old also claimed that Ricciardo is costing McLaren more money than they had initially expected, saying:
“He doesn’t bring in any points and he doesn’t have the speed the team needs to develop the car. So he’s just costing them money. It would be cheaper for them to continue paying Ricciardo’s salary, let him sit on the couch at home, and put another driver in the car. It’s a harsh reality, but that’s Formula 1.”
Paul di Resta claims McLaren's warning to Daniel Ricciardo is just to 'try and alert' him
Contrary to Jacques Villeneuve's opinion, Paul di Resta believes McLaren's warnings to Daniel Ricciardo were made just to try and get the driver to 'pull his socks up'. The Honey Badger has been unable to adjust to his McLaren MCL36 car, claiming it doesn't suit his driving style. Barring his iconic win at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, the Australian is yet to impress critics, with many fans disappointed in the driver's dismal form.
The Sky Sports F1 pundit elaborated, saying:
“I don’t think that the writing is on the wall. They’ve done that to try and alert him to what’s going on. It’s about as low as I’ve seen Daniel [Ricciardo], when he stopped and he was out of qualifying, he sat in the car and you could see him staring. It was almost like that stare in Baku that Lewis [Hamilton] had when he didn’t believe in the package he had, that’s happened for Daniel. You’ve got to turn that around, make Daniel happy and keep him there because when you give him something he can do it.”
Lando Norris has outperformed him on almost every occasion and now holds a 21-8 qualifying record against the former Red Bull driver. While it definitely looks bleak for Daniel Ricciardo, he still has plenty of time to turn the season around and bring in some solid points for the team.
