As Ricciardo prepares to depart the McLaren squad where he has raced since the start of the 2021 season, after a string of underwhelming performances prompted the team to replace him with Oscar Piastri, there is intense interest in where Ricciardo will end up.
As he is understood to be receiving salary compensation from McLaren to cover the third year of the contract he signed with the orange team back in 2020, Ricciardo could conceivably decide to take a year out of racing and instead work for another squad in a reserve and third driver capacity.
This is if potential moves for Ricciardo to rejoin Alpine – thought to be unlikely given his decision to swiftly abandon that team and join McLaren for 2021 – or head to Haas or Williams do not come off.
Ahead of the Italian Grand Prix weekend at Monza, a report in Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper suggests a 2023 Mercedes reserve role is a new possibility for Ricciardo.
When asked about this suggestion in the press conference for the Monza race, Hamilton, who is set to race alongside George Russell at Mercedes in 2023, replied: “I think he should be racing, personally.
“He’s far too talented to [be a third driver] and he’s earned the right to be amongst us all racing.
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“But, of course, if he’s a part of our team that would be great. But third [driver] role is not really what’s best for him. If I was managing him, he’d be racing!”
Sitting alongside Hamilton in the press conference, Ricciardo was also asked for his response to the report, to which he said he is “really assessing everything” regarding his future plans.
“The truth is I’m keeping every option open for not only next year but the future [too],” Ricciardo added.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13, Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL36
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
“I still don’t know what next year looks like. As Lewis said, I do want to be on the grid – I do want to race.
“I touched on it a few weeks ago, although this has been certainly a challenging time in my career, it hasn’t taken the love of the sport away from me and that desire to still be here and compete.
“Obviously, many talks or thoughts about next year and beyond that [have taken place], but I’m still not sure what that looks like.”
Hamilton’s current Mercedes contract only covers the 2023 season, with the implication of any mooted reserve role for…
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