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The current F1 silly season has seen speculation surrounding Daniel Ricciardo's potential departure from McLaren. Now, reports suggest that the eight-time Grand Prix winner is seeking a whopping $21 million pay-out to part ways with the Woking-based team at the end of the 2022 season.
Ricciardo joined McLaren at the start of the 2021 season on a three-year contract but has been consistently outperformed by his teammate Lando Norris. His underwhelming performances on the track gave rise to plenty of criticism directed toward the 33-year-old. Speedcafe.com recently reported that the Australian is looking for quite a hefty pay-out from his current team to end his contract early.
Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri is rumored to take his compatriot's seat for his rookie season next year. Piastri had earlier denied signing a contract with Alpine for the 2023 F1 season despite the announcements made by the French outfit.
The events were set in motion after Fernando Alonso announced that he would be replacing Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin. Vettel had earlier confirmed that he is set to retire from F1 at the end of the 2022 season, kicking off quite an exciting silly season, the outcomes of which are yet to be seen.
Daniel Ricciardo is "cautious" when it comes to hopes and expectations
Daniel Ricciardo has experienced some high moments in F1, but more recently, understood what it feels like to have nothing go his way. As one of the most highly experienced drivers on the current grid, he admitted that he has learned to control his expectations to manage the myriad of emotions that the drivers are put through.
Speaking to RACER, the Aussie said:
“Maybe this is with experience now, I’m always just a little cautious of how much to hope for, or how much to expect or wonder. You never know. I think that’s everything, even if it’s updates or whatever. If they’re like ‘this is going to be 0.3s’, let’s see it on track. Even if the team said we’ve got an update this weekend that’s worth a second, I’m not going to do cartwheels until the stopwatch says that. And obviously, that’s nothing against the team, I just think it’s important not to get too high in this sport because it can certainly bring you back down just as quick.”
“It was exciting [to have a reset], but then I also look back at the second half of last year and although it still wasn’t the best second half of a year I’ve ever had, it was a lot better than the first. I’d built up a little bit of momentum with that car, so I was also like ‘if the rules don’t change, I think I’m in a good spot to start the second season now’.”
Daniel Ricciardo currently stands twelfth in the drivers' standings, with a mere 19 points to his name, while Lando Norris is up in seventh, with four times that tally.
