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Daniel Ricciardo is reportedly seeking a whopping $21 million pay-out to part ways with McLaren. The Woking-based outfit have reportedly made it abundantly clear that their preferred driver line-up for the 2023 season is that of Lando Norris and rookie Oscar Piastri.
Ricciardo has a contract with McLaren until the end of next season and hence has the grounds to make such demands. Fans, however, have taken to social media to criticize the Australian for asking for such a large compensation, despite not having performed on track to back it up.
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As the silly season officially kicked off at the start of the summer break, Fernando Alonso confirmed that he would be replacing Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin. Subsequently, Alpine announced that Oscar Piastri would be joining the team to partner Esteban Ocon in 2023. The Formula 2 champion, however, denied having signed a contract with Alpine, insisting that he will not be racing for the French outfit next season.
With this, speculation grew around Piastri potentially signing a deal with McLaren, who would then part ways with Daniel Ricciardo, eventually leading up to the latter's pay-out demands. Over the course of the first half of the 2022 season, Lando Norris has significantly outperformed Ricciardo and currently enjoys a massive 57-point advantage over his teammate. Fans insist that this move has ruined the 33-year-old's reputation even more, suggesting that he should simply consider moving to Formula E rather than continuing in F1.
Fans react to Daniel Ricciardo's alleged pay-out demands
Mercedes have "always had an eye" on Daniel Ricciardo, says Toto Wolff
Speculation surrounding the McLaren driver's future in F1 after potentially leaving his team has grown significantly over the past two weeks, with some suggesting that a move to Alpine, Alfa Romeo, or Haas is highly likely.
Mercedes, however, could be another option for the Aussie in 2024, when Lewis Hamilton's contract with the team expires. As reported by Express, the Silver Arrows briefly considered Daniel Ricciardo at the beginning of the 2019 season as a potential replacement for Valtteri Bottas.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff previously admitted that the team had not ruled out Ricciardo entirely, saying:
“We always had an eye on Daniel… we really like him in here. It’s just the mentality in Mercedes - I sometimes feel if you’re happy in your relationship it is not always easy (to change).”
“It is like being married, you need to be 100 per cent behind it. It was not a lack of interest, it was just that we were in a happy relationship and there was no need to flirt with another woman at that stage.”
Daniel Ricciardo currently stands twelfth in the drivers' standings, with a mere 19 points to his name.
