What are Ricciardo’s options to stay in Formula 1?

Talks took place behind the scenes between McLaren and Ricciardo over the summer to agree the terms of his departure at the end of the season, with one year remaining on his contract.

It is a low-key ending to one of the most high-profile F1 moves in recent memory, bringing to an end a largely difficult spell for Ricciardo at McLaren, who will now look to swap one Australian for another by securing Oscar Piastri away from Alpine.

It also leaves Ricciardo weighing up his options for the future. He’s a free agent in a driver market that has very few viable seats left for 2023. Yet even after the struggles of the last two years, he surely remains one of the most attractive options for teams in need of a driver.

So what are Ricciardo’s options to stay on the F1 grid for next year?

Alpine

Considering the cloud under which Ricciardo left Renault at the end of 2020 to join McLaren, a return just two years later would have seemed unthinkable.

Yet the fashion in which the recent saga has played out, whereby Alpine may have let both Piastri and Fernando Alonso slip through its fingers in a matter of weeks, means a reunion could in fact be a marriage of convenience for both parties; a chance to prove everyone who wrote them off wrong.

It is important to note that a lot has changed at Enstone since Ricciardo’s last stint, reaching beyond the name of the team and the colour of the car. The management of Renault’s works F1 operation has also been overhauled: gone are the likes of Cyril Abiteboul, Alain Prost and Marcin Budkowski, with the leadership now comprising Otmar Szafnauer as team principal and Laurent Rossi as Alpine CEO.

It would make a potential Ricciardo return more palatable for those who felt so scorned by his shock exit in 2020. He would also bring a bit of sparkle and star power back to the team’s line-up, something that has been lost with Alonso’s departure, and offer a huge amount of marketing appeal – surely of huge value as Renault looks to grow the Alpine brand.

Alpine would undoubtedly be Ricciardo’s most competitive option for the near future. The team currently sits fourth in the constructors’ standings, and has been more consistent than McLaren of late. Remarkably, it could actually be a step up the competitive order for Ricciardo, as well as offering a move to a works outfit.

But it must be noted that Piastri remains Alpine’s intended…