Daniel Ricciardo has spoken out about the “harsh reality” of being fired by McLaren during the 2022 Formula One season.
Despite winning their first race in almost a decade at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, the Australian was notified that he will be dropped midway through the season due to poor performances.
On track, his achievements did not match those of teammate Lando Norris, who won the Emilia Romagna GP and consistently placed in the points in the difficult MCL35.
Fellow compatriot Oscar Piastri would be named as Ricciardo’s replacement, in what turned out to be a controversial signing for the team.
When asked about his exit from McLaren, Ricciardo revealed when he realized his time at the team was up.
“I’m a pretty easy-going guy, I got along with the team, and I didn’t have any falling out with anyone in the team,” he told Goodwood Road and Racing.
“But it’s all based on performance, and let’s say the business side of things didn’t work out.”
“Getting fired was a bit of a harsh reality at the time.” But towards the end of the season, when I returned home for Christmas, I was thinking, ‘Okay, it surely doesn’t help my reputation,’ but I didn’t care. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.”
Ricciardo eventually found peace with his old team Red Bull, who hired him as their third driver for the first part of the 2023 season before returning to the grid with AlphaTauri to replace the underperforming Nyck de Vries.
During his time away from the car, Ricciardo talks about needing to rediscover his enthusiasm for F1 following a difficult few seasons in which he did not compete for victories or titles.
“I needed to step away for a bit, to re-find myself, re-find my love for the sport,” he said.
“If it could have been done better, that’s fine, but I don’t think finishing the contract this year would have done me any favors.”
“I guess, in a way, I thank them for making that decision because we were in a bit of a hole, and I’m not sure we could have got out of it.”
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