As Daniel Ricciardo’s hellish season continues, a shocking revelation from the McLaren boss has put his F1 career in serious jeopardy.
McLaren boss Zak Brown has stepped up pressure on Daniel Ricciardo to make it work, as he suggested the team has “mechanisms” in his contract that could terminate him prematurely.
Ricciardo has fought so far in his second season at McLaren and is 11th in the drivers’ standings ahead of this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.
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Earlier this week, Brown stated that Lando Norris has a clear “advantage” over Ricciardo and said the Australian’s disappointing results were not what McLaren scored when he was hired from Renault.
“Obviously, we’d love to see Daniel much closer to Lando and have a good team battle,” the McLaren CEO said.
“In the absence of Monza and some races, he has not met our expectations or ours than we expected.
“I think the only thing you can do is keep working hard as a team, keep communications going, keep pushing, and wait for what you don’t click right now to click soon.”
When Ricciardo was questioned about Brown’s statement, he faced criticism of his chin.
“It’s not fake, it’s pretty true,” he said.
“First comments, I don’t take them personally. My skin is tanned, beautiful and also thick. No one will be harder on me than I am.
“I don’t want to be in 10 or 12 places. Sometimes it’s a little safer when it comes to trying to get up and maximize in this car.
“But we’re working together on that. The team wants it, I want it and we’re just working on it.”
Brown has now stepped up his criticism of Ricciardo and raised serious doubts about the long-term future of the 32-year-old at McLaren.
He suggested that Ricciardo’s contract with the team, which expires in late 2023, was not waterproof and there were clauses that would allow McLaren to separate from the Australian if his performance did not improve.
When asked if McLaren or Ricciardo had a termination clause in their contract if they did not want to continue until 2023, Brown replied: “I do not want to enter into the contract, but there are mechanisms in which we are committed. where we are not.
“I talked to Daniel about it. We’re not getting the results we both hoped for, but we’re both going to keep working.
“I think he showed Monza (last year) that he can win races. We also need to develop our race car; he is not able to win races. But we would like to see it above the grid.
“It simply came to our notice then. And then we’ve increased our testing schedule, but we’re in no hurry. “
The McLaren technical director has said that this year’s MCL36 is “easier” and “more comfortable to drive” than last season’s car, which only makes Ricciardo’s bad shape even more puzzling.
Brown’s comments come when he confirmed that McLaren’s IndyCar team had extended the contract of 23-year-old Mexican Pato O’Ward until the end of 2025.
O’Ward and his IndyCar teammate Colton Herta have development contracts with McLaren, which gives them a chance to test the team’s F1 car.
Herta has been considered a possible replacement for Ricciardo.
The 22-year-old is clearly on McLaren’s long-term plans given the appeal of having a US driver on the grid as F1’s popularity explodes in the US.
Herta had a frightening crash at the Indy 500 training sessions on Saturday (AEST) when she entered the barriers and her car overturned dramatically and rolled down the track.
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