Daniel Ricciardo has come out swinging to address rumours over his future in Formula One, insisting he has no intention of walking away from the sport and is determined to see out his contract with McLaren.
The Australian’s job has come under scrutiny over the past two months, with Ricciardo enduring a dismal start to his second season with the British team.
The 33-year-old has finished in the top 10 – where drivers earn world championship points – just three times in the first 11 rounds and as a result he has scored only 17 points.
Daniel Ricciardo’s future at McLaren remains under a cloud after a disappointing season so far
In contrast, team-mate Lando Norris has racked up 67 points, courtesy of eight top-10 finishes which include McLaren’s only podium of the season.
Speaking ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix in May, team boss Zak Brown conceded Ricciardo had not met expectations and hinted there were ‘mechanisms’ in the Australian’s contract that could see the team move on from him before his deal expires at the end of 2023.
Ricciardo and McLaren held a clear-the-air meeting last month and the eight-time Grand Prix winner has repeatedly reiterated his commitment to the team.
For all his fighting talk, however, McLaren have worked behind scenes to identify a replacement and have handed out test runs to some of the talented young drivers currently on their books.
Here, Sportsmail takes a look at who could take over Ricciardo’s seat as early as next season.
Ricciardo (left) has addressed his Formula One future by insisting he’s not going anywhere – he responded to speculation in a post on his social media platform on Wednesday (right)
Colton Herta
One of the rising stars in McLaren’s stable of drivers, Herta is the youngest driver to win a race in IndyCar and has accumulated seven wins and 10 podiums in 57 races over the past five seasons.
Highly regarded by those across the F1 paddock, the 22-year-old was linked with a move to Alfa Romeo last year and tested a 2021 McLaren in Portimao – where the Portuguese GP was held over the past two seasons – for two days earlier this week.
‘Colton is a proven talent in IndyCar and we will be interested to see how he adapts to a Formula 1 car,’ McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl said.
The youngest driver to win IndyCar race, Colton Herta, is highly regarded in the F1 paddock
‘We believe this testing programme will provide him with valuable experience while demonstrating the benefit of expanding previous car testing to showcase promising drivers for the future.’
Like Ricciardo’s contract with McLaren, Herta’s deal with Andretti Autosport expires at the end of 2023 and if he impresses during testing he could be high on the list of candidates for McLaren.
Having an American driver on the grid would boost Formula 1’s already rapid growth in the US even further.
Pato O’Ward
Another IndyCar driver with aspirations of breaking into F1, O’Ward has long been touted as a potential replacement for Ricciardo.
The 23-year-old has won three races and secured 11 podium finishes in 47 starts and took part in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Young Drivers’ Test with McLaren last year.
The window for a possible move to F1, however, may have shut before it even opened after the Arrow McLaren SP driver signed a new deal to remain in IndyCar until 2025 back in May.
IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward has won three races and secured 11 podium finishes in 47 starts
At the end of last year, the Mexican told Autosport that a switch to F1 would have to happen fairly soon if it was to happen at all.
‘Arguably there’s a maximum two more years for me to be able to come into the F1 scene. There’s not much more time,’ he said.
‘I will do everything I can to make it happen, because it is the top of the top.’
Alex Palou
McLaren’s latest recruit signed with the team on Wednesday.
The reigning IndyCar champion, Palou will join McLaren from next season after his current deal with Chip Ganassi Racing ends at the end of the 2022 campaign.
Like fellow IndyCar stars Herta and O’Ward, the Spaniard’s deal with McLaren includes him testing last year’s MCL35M car.
Intriguingly, in the press release welcoming Palou to McLaren, Brown made no mention he will continue to race in IndyCar.
Reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou (pictured July 3) signed for McLaren on Wednesday
Whether that means the Spaniard will switch to F1 remains to be seen, but the McLaren boss was bullish about Palou’s prospects.
‘I’m looking forward to seeing him get behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car […] alongside Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta as we continue to build our driver talent,’ he said.
‘Alex is an incredibly talented driver who has won in every series he has raced in, and I’m happy to welcome him to the McLaren family.’
Oscar Piastri
McLaren could well have an Australian driver next season, except it could be Piastri instead of Ricciardo if his agent Mark Webber has his way.
The Alpine reserve driver was linked with a move to Williams to replace the struggling Nicholas Latifi mid-season and his name was also floated as a potential candidate to take over from Fernando Alonso at Alpine next year.
Piastri, however, is yet to commit to Williams and on Sunday, Sky F1 reported Webber was reportedly working to have the 21-year-old replace his fellow Australian at McLaren.
A world champion in F3 and F2, Piastri appears destined for a future in F1 and with Alonso’s future yet to be decided a promotion within Alpine can’t be ruled out either.
Expect another dose of Aussie grit to come to the grid sooner than later.
Oscar Piastri won world titles in both F3 and F2 prior to becoming Alpine’s reserve driver
Sebastian Vettel
While it seems accepted that Ricciardo’s eventual replacement will be a younger driver, McLaren could also choose to go down a totally different route and pair Lando Norris with a veteran driver.
Sebastian Vettel fits the bill in terms of experience and pedigree and, crucially, will be a free agent at the end of the season.
However, the four-time world champion has struggled with Aston Martin this season and McLaren may to think twice before committing to a driver likely to demand a far higher salary than Herta, Palou, Piastri and O’Ward.
Sebastian Vettel has not ruled out retiring from Formula One at the end of the 2022 season
Vettel will be 36 by the time next season starts and hasn’t ruled out the possibility of retiring at the end of the current campaign.
‘The future depends on this year and the races that I have coming up,’ he said last month.
‘I have not decided yet. The summer is the usual time when you start to talk so we will see.’
A former champion of this sport and finds himself in a car right now that is struggling to compete – stranger things have happened.
Alex Albon
Should McLaren consider Herta, Palou, Piastri and O’Ward too raw and Vettel too long in the tooth, Albon could emerge as a decent compromise.
The British-Thai driver has impressed in flashes since returning to F1 with Williams this season after losing his spot on the grid at the end of the 2020 campaign and serving as Red Bull reserve driver last year.
Albon would almost certainly accept his role as No 2 behind Norris, while giving McLaren the chance to develop one of their young drivers for at least another season.
Alex Albon has impressed in flashes since choosing to return to F1 with Williams this season
