By Joe Murphy
It seems all but official now that Daniel Ricciardo will no longer be a part of the a Formula 1 grid, from next year. The Australian has admitted recently that even he now doesn’t believe a seat will be found, although with two teams yet to fully confirm lineups, he could still find a last minute slot.
The only realistic option for Danny Ricc is Haas. Kevin Magnussen is confirmed for another year however Mick Schumacher’s seat is yet to be confirmed. The problem Ricciardo has is that Mick is having a positive year and is developing nicely at the American constructor. What Haas bosses will have to figure out is that is it worth paying Ricciardo the extra money for his commercial value and racing pedigree.
Should Mick retain his seat, then it seems Ricciardo is most likely out of options. Lance Stroll should be cemented in alongside Fernando Alonso any day now, as Nick de Vries and Oscar Piastri await their full F1 call ups. Regarding Williams, the entire fit doesn’t seem to be a feasible option, for multiple financial and racing reasons. The options Ricciardo will have are not set to be in short supply. He could head to the United States and potentially get involved with a different strand of racing. Alternatively, he could take a break from motorsport on the whole, before making a return in a year or two. However, as Nico Hulkenburg found out, once you leave F1 it’s very hard to break back in to the ‘A’ League.
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