McLaren boss Zak Brown has confirmed the future of Daniel Ricciardo after his criticism of the Australian turned the world of F1 around.
McLaren boss Zak Brown has confirmed that Daniel Ricciardo will fulfill his contract with the team and will not be fired before.
Brown surprised the F1 world earlier this year when he stated that Ricciardo’s performances since joining McLaren “have not met his expectations” and Lando Norris has a clear “advantage” over his teammate.
The McLaren CEO then put the cat among the pigeons when he suggested that Ricciardo’s contract with the papaya team, which expires in late 2023, was not waterproof and there were clauses that would allow McLaren to separate from ‘him if his performances do not. does not improve.
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It has since been reported that Ricciardo may break his contract, but McLaren cannot. But his poor results have done little to stifle speculation that this season could be the 33-year-old’s last in F1.
Ricciardo is 14th in the drivers’ championship and has only finished in the top 10 twice so far this season.
But in an interview with Fox Motorsport host Jessica Yates, Brown denied that McLaren had planned to give the film to Ricciardo, suggesting that he remain with the team at least until his contract expires at the end of the season. next season.
Yates asked, “Will he take over his contract?” to which Brown replied, “Oh, yes.”
“We just keep pushing hard,” he said.
“We love working with him. He loves the team. We’ve seen that when we give him a car capable of winning, he can win.
“Last year he didn’t have the feeling of having a good season and he still won (in Monza). So it’s in there. “We just have to figure out how to unlock it, give it a car that it feels most comfortable with. We have a great relationship.”
Brown’s criticism of Ricciardo drove F1 rumors to a halt, but he explained that he was simply being honest, adding that his comments were no harsher than how Ricciardo values his own performance.
“No, nothing inside the race team,” he said when asked if his words caused a stir in McLaren’s garage.
“I know it caused a lot of ripples on the outside.
“Daniel and I have a great relationship. We had dinner in London not long after that, we’re exchanging WhatApps all the time.
“Someone asked me a question and I gave him an honest answer. It’s the same answer that Daniel has given and would give, which is: we’re not where we want to be.
“On the other hand, if I said, ‘Everything’s fine,’ people would say, ‘Are you really happy with the 12th?’ Well, of course I’m not happy with the 12th. It was just an honest answer. he had to be critical.
“It doesn’t mean we don’t think we can win more races, it doesn’t mean we’re not working incredibly hard.
“On the contrary, I know he can win us more races, we are trying incredibly, but considering his resume, and how is Lando, do we expect him to be next to Lando, right in front or behind?
“Yes, and so does he. And we’ll get there. We’re totally committed to it.”
Brown slammed former F1 world champion Jenson Button, who said he was “surprised” that Brown had publicly criticized Ricciardo and was not “protecting” his driver.
“I saw one of our former Grand Prix drivers (Jenson Button) say,‘ We all know that, I can’t believe I said that, ’Brown said.
“It was like, ‘Well, if we all know that, what’s the big deal I said?’
“It wasn’t meant to be anything else. Someone asked me a question. I gave them an honest answer.”
The F1 season continues at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday at 23:00 (AEST). The only place to see the action is at Fox Sports and Kayo.
Watch Jessica Yates ’full interview with Zak Brown at Kayo Freebies (no credit card details required to register).
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