Formula 1: Daniel Ricciardo faces an uncertain future as McLaren plans to replace him: McLaren’s Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo has had a torrid start to the 2022 season, but things can soon go from bad to worse for him, as there are rumors that he might be replaced by the young American driver Colton Herta. Follow Formula 1 Live and F1 Updates on InsideSport.IN.
F1 reporter Joe Saward has reported that McLaren their eyes set on IndyCar driver Colton Herta and they are thinking of him as the perfect option for taking Ricciardo’s seat in the MCL36.
Formula 1: Daniel Ricciardo faces uncertain FUTURE as McLaren plans to replace him with Colton Herta – Reports
In his column, Saward said, “Daniel Ricciardo seems a little lost at McLaren and there continues to be rumors that in 2024 (if not earlier) Daniel will be replaced by Colton Herta.”
“The American who Zak Brown believes could open the gates of Formula 1 to corporate America. We will have to see if Herta has everything needed to be an F1 star, but he seems to have the speed,” the reporter further added.
Up until this point this year, the Australian finished fourteenth in Bahrain, had a DNF in Saudi Arabia, finished 6th in Melbourne, and eighteenth in Imola. Currently, he is eleventh in the Drivers’ standings, having failed to pick up points at every single race barring the Australian GP.
To add to his misery, Ricciardo crashed with Carlos Sainz at Imola which ended his race at Turn 1 itself. The Australian managed to come back in the race but he could only manage an eighteenth place finish. After the race, Daniel even went to apologize to Carlos Sainz personally.
Daniel yendo a ferrari para disculparse con carlos🥺🥺 TOTAL #Respect for #danielricciardo pic.twitter.com/hlv1sEkVrm
— Roberto Alvarado (@RobertoAlv14) April 24, 2022
Formula 1: Daniel Ricciardo faces uncertain FUTURE as McLaren plans to replace him with Colton Herta – Reports
The American driver Colton Herta will be testing the MCL35 this year as it is his part of the deal with McLaren. McLaren CEO Zak Brown has affirmed there is an arrangement set up for testing the vehicle, yet didn’t go into particulars.
Formula 1: Colton Herta will be testing the MCL35 this year.“Yes, we’ve now got a plan installed for Colton. That’s up to McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl to communicate that outwardly when he’s ready to communicate it. But yes, we have a plan,” Brown told RACER.
Meanwhile, despite the ever-growing rumours, Zak Brown assured everyone that he’ll stick with Ricciardo until the end of 2023. “Right now, we don’t have a seat available. Lando is under a very long-term contract, so that seat is done. Daniel, we have another couple of years with him,” Brown concluded.
Formula 1: Daniel Ricciardo faces uncertain FUTURE as McLaren plans to replace him with Colton Herta – Reports