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In a surprising turn of events, Daniel Ricciardo has emerged as a contender as Mick Schumacher's replacement at Haas for the 2023 F1 season. As per ESPN, the Australian was called by Haas team principal Guenther Steiner after the Hungarian GP last season.
Schumacher has not had a great first half of the ongoing season. He started disastrously with massive crashes in Saudi Arabia and Monaco. The German has rebounded somewhat and is starting to perform better and gained more confidence. The races in Silverstone and Austria were standout ones for him, as he was the faster driver than his teammate Kevin Magnussen.
However, with the German looking to cut ties with the Ferrari Drivers Academy, his seat at Haas is now in danger. Ferrari's close association was one of the reasons why Schumacher has had a seat at Haas. With that association ending, the team appears to be lining up Schumacher's replacement next season.
Antonio Giovinazzi is set to take part in multiple FP1 sessions, where he would likely be benchmarked against the current drivers. With Ricciardo also getting linked to that seat, it should be an alarming development for Schumacher.
What are Daniel Ricciardo's options if he leaves McLaren?
With Daniel Ricciardo's future appearing to be in the dumps at McLaren, the Australian is on the lookout for a new team next season.
While the doors are closing at McLaren and his seat likely to be taken by Oscar Piastri, there are options like Alpine and Haas that are on the table for the Australian.
Daniel Ricciardo apparently reached out to Alpine and had a discussion for a place in their team for the 2023 season. One thing that would probably be worrying for Ricciardo is the way he severed ties with them after the 2020 campaign.
Moreover, the fact that Alpine have not gone ahead and announced Ricciardo shows that the team is still mulling its options. With a French driver - Pierre Gasly - still in the market, there could be a possibility that Ricciardo does not get the nod at Alpine.
In that case, Haas could be a viable alternative. The team has shown improvement this season. Their car has been stronger than it was last season. Moreover, if the Alpine option does not come through, Haas looks like the only option for Ricciardo.
With Steiner seemingly not a huge fan of Schumacher, a seat at Haas could be a possibility for Ricciardo.
