"Let’s close this thing out”: Daniel Ricciardo was close to joining Alpine as revealed by McLaren boss in Drive to Survive 

The latest season of the Netflix F1 docuseries Drive to Survive revealed that Daniel Ricciardo was on the verge of joining Alpine after his departure from McLaren.

The fifth season of Drive to Survive permiered this Friday. The series revealed a lot of behind the scenes developments of various drivers' moves to other teams, and provided an interesting perspective on Daniel Ricciardo's departure from McLaren.

In an episode, McLaren CEO Zak Brown was seen speaking with Alpine's Laurent Rossi, and their conversation sounded like Ricciardo was going to get a chance with the French team. Zak Brown said:

"I feel like I can help. Let’s close this thing out."

Rossi's reply to this was positive, saying that he would be delighted to have Ricciardo in the team. However, the Frenchman said he only wanted the move because he wanted Ricciardo to stay in the sport.

"I’d love to see him here [at Alpine]. But that’s only because I’d love to see him stay in the sport."

Daniel Ricciardo has had a tough time with McLaren over the past two seasons, which ultimately led to his contract being terminated a year early by mutual agreement. When this happened, there was a lot of speculation about what was next for the Australian. Although Alpine was thought to be one of his potential destinations, it eventually didn't happen.

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Daniel Ricciardo was favoured by Haas chief Guenther Steiner

Alpine were not the only ones looking for a new driver ahead of the 2023 season, as Haas revealed earlier that they were not extending Mick Schumacher's contract. This meant that the American team was going to require another driver.

Guenther Steiner, the team's principal, had already said that he wanted Ricciardo in the vacant seat, however, a move didn't materialize. In the latest edition of Drive to Survive, Guenther is heard speaking about an apparent deal between Haas and Ricciardo.

"He wants 10 f***ing million [dollars]."

The team ended up signing Nico Hulkenberg.

While Daniel Ricciardo was still looking for a seat, something interesting happened. Alpine revealed that they were signing Oscar Piastri, the former Formula 2 champion, as their replacement for Alonso.

Hours later, Piastri made a social media post stating that he wasn't joining the French team. A public announcement was made soon after, revealing Piastri as McLaren's 2023 driver in place of Ricciardo

Red Bull then came to Ricciardo's rescue, making him their third driver for the upcoming season.