McLaren CEO Zak Brown has scotched suggestions that Daniel Ricciardo was blindsided by his sacking from the F1 team, and said the decision was the hardest thing he’s had to do in his motorsports career.
Ricciardo, who finished 11th in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka on Sunday, will likely be without a drive in 2023 and at 33 years of age, his F1 career may be at an end rather than just ‘hitting pause’ as he had said.
The eight-time Grand Prix winner was under contract with McLaren until the end of the 2023 campaign but after two underwhelming seasons, the team opted to part ways ahead of schedule.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown (pictured at the Canadian GP) has opened up about the sacking of Daniel Ricciardo, saying it was the hardest thing he’s had to do in motorsports and that he’s still a huge fan of the Aussie
The McLaren boss also disputed the idea that Ricciardo was shocked by the team’s recruitment of Australian compatriot Oscar Piastri.
‘We were transparent through the whole process and I know there had been tons of media speculation when it happened, how it happened,’ Brown said.
‘Daniel and I know what really happened and I think that’s why we still very much have a strong relationship.
‘It was all transparent, well-communicated and there’s times we can tell people what’s going on and then there’s other times we just can’t.’
Brown said McLaren did everything they could to help Ricciardo (pictured at the Spainish GP), but his results on the track gave them no choice but to end the contract.
In an interview with Kayo Sports, Brown said McLaren did everything they could to help the Aussie turn around his form, but his results on the track gave them no choice but to end the contract.
‘Ultimately we weren’t getting the results that we needed and we’re a year-and-a-half into this,’ Brown told Fox Motorsport host Jess Yates at the Bathurst 1000.
‘We’ve all tried extremely hard, we love Daniel, he’s great to work with and continues to be great to work with.
‘But we’re in the results business and the results weren’t coming and we felt we tried everything.
‘We don’t really know why it didn’t click, it’s kind of nobody’s fault. We gave it our best. He gave it his best … we just kind of ran out of things to try.’
Brown says that all parties gave their best, but things just didn’t ‘click’ and Ricciardo (pictured at the Japanese GP) had to go
Ricciardo will leave the Woking-based team at the end of the season to be replaced by Piastri but remains optimistic about returning to an F1 race seat in 2024.
‘I tried to get Daniel before he went to Renault, so this was years in the making. I’m a huge Daniel fan. I’m still a huge Daniel fan and that’ll never change.
‘I asked him if he wanted to drive for us in the IndyCar or Formula E … I’d love to keep Daniel in the family but he’s still very focused on Formula One, which I get, it’s the pinnacle of motorsports. I’d love to race with him again.
‘It’s probably the toughest thing I’ve had in my time in motorsports, it wasn’t pleasant, not fun.
Brown says he and the West-Aussie still have a strong relationship
‘But my job, along with Andreas (Seidl), is to make the tough decisions and because we didn’t really see progress happening, it was like, ‘Well I think we just need to make a change for both of our sakes and hopefully get him in the situation where he can be competitive again and in a Formula One car wherever he ends up racing’, but (it’s been) a huge disappointment.’
Daniel Ricciardo (pictured at the Japanese GP) has declared he will not have a seat in F1 for 2023 – but says he remains focused on returning to Formula One in 2024.
Earlier this week, Ricciardo’s manager Nick Thimm insisted that the Aussie’s exit from F1 at the end of the season wasn’t about unachievable demands or a lack of opportunity, but about ‘a man being dealt a bad hand’.
‘The honey badger will still be as close to the F1 grid as he can in 2023. He’s not done. And as we saw this season, anything can happen,’ said Thimm.
The F1 season moves to the USA for the United States Grand Prix on Monday 24 October.
