Daniel Ricciardo will race in McLaren papaya orange in the 2021 Formula 1 season as a replacement to Carlos Sainz Jr.
With Sainz off to Ferrari following the news Sebastian Vettel will leave the team, McLaren has confirmed the honey badger will be joining at the end of the year.
The new deal will see the seven-time Grand Prix winner leave Renault, where he has raced for the last two seasons following his departure from Red Bull Racing.
McLaren has been keen on working for Ricciardo for some time, making an approach for the Australian when he weighed up his Formula 1 future in 2018.
Ricciardo ultimately decided to sign for Renault, who finished behind McLaren in the constructors’ championship last season.
Lando Norris has also been confirmed as staying at McLaren to partner Ricciardo.
McLaren Racing’s CEO Zak Brown had this to say:
“Signing Daniel is another step forward in our long-term plan and will bring an exciting new dimension to the team, alongside Lando. This is good news for our team, partners and of course our fans.”
“I also want to pay tribute to Carlos for the excellent job he has been doing for McLaren in helping our performance recovery plan. He is a real team player and we wish him well for his future beyond McLaren.”
Team principal Andreas Seidl commented about Ricciardo joining the team:
“Daniel is a proven race winner and his experience, commitment and energy will be a valuable addition to McLaren and our mission to return to the front of the field.”
“With Daniel and Lando as teammates, I believe we have two racers who will continue to excite our fans and help the team grow.
“Carlos is a true professional, a pleasure to work with and we will continue to enjoy going racing with him this year. We all wish him good luck for the next stage in his career when he leaves McLaren.”
McLaren had already opened talks with Sainz over a new contract after his impressive display for the team last season, only for Ferrari to swoop in once Vettel’s exit was confirmed.
Since returning to Formula 1 as a works team in 2016, Renault has been open in its target to return to the front of the field upon the new set of technical regulations, which now come into force for 2022.
Ricciardo signed for Renault fully aware of the long-term nature of the project, but the team failed to bridge the gap to the leading three teams as hoped through 2019.
Renault is yet to indicate who will replace Ricciardo at the team, but it now holds one of the highest-profile open seats in Formula 1 for 2021.
Outgoing Ferrari driver Vettel has been linked with the seat, as has two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who previously raced for Renault in two stints from 2003-06 and in 2008-09.
Renault has also been bold in its ambition to have a graduate from its junior academy on the Formula 1 grid by 2021, a possibility strengthened by Ricciardo’s departure.
Guanyu Zhou and Christian Lundgaard are the two leading members of the Renault Sport Academy, both racing in Formula 2 this year.
So fantastic news to get Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren. It’s going to be fascinating to see Ricciardo driving with a Mercedes-powered car and fighting for points. He gets along very well with teammate Lando Norris, thanks to jokes and banter. Best of luck Daniel!
Social media:
https://www.mclaren.com/racing/team/daniel-ricciardo-drive-mclaren-2021/
https://twitter.com/danielricciardo/status/1260858985923526656
Official statement:
https://www.mclaren.com/racing/team/daniel-ricciardo-drive-mclaren-2021/
News stories:
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.mclaren-swoop-for-daniel-ricciardo-as-carlos-sainz-replacement-for-2021.6CgsQLN5ZasbdFg4qCjbZo.html
https://www.racefans.net/2020/05/14/official-ricciardo-mclaren-2021/
https://the-race.com/formula-1/ricciardo-to-join-mclaren-f1-team-on-multi-year-deal/
https://the-race.com/formula-1/why-ricciardos-mclaren-move-is-best-of-a-bad-situation/
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/may/14/renault-daniel-ricciardo-carlos-sainz-mclaren-f1
Why Ricciardo has gambled his future on McLaren – rather than staying at Renault. Article provided by Formula1.com.
At 30 years old, Daniel Ricciardo is hardly past it – Kimi Raikkonen is still going at 40 after all – but he is very aware that time is running out to win a title in F1. Renault failed to deliver what was promised, when he made the shock move from Red Bull, in year one – so it was no surprise he started looking elsewhere.
He would have loved a move to Ferrari. Admittedly, what driver wouldn’t? He was disappointed when he was linked to Raikkonen’s seat in 2016 and it didn’t come off. When Sebastian Vettel parted ways with Ferrari this week, the red rumours started to swirl once more – but the truth was he wasn’t really in contention.
This time, though, he already knew that. The Ferrari ship had sailed. He had a new focus – McLaren. The iconic British team had already come calling in 2018, trying to tempt him to Woking when it was clear he wanted out of Red Bull. They came close – but then, as we know, Ricciardo picked Renault’s mega-money offer.
There were no hard feelings, though. McLaren chief Zak Brown may not have got the deal done then – but he had no intention of giving up. Talks restarted in recent weeks and this time, it was signed, sealed and delivered.
Why leave Renault?
Ultimately, Renault didn’t deliver what Ricciardo had expected in his first season with the team, the black and yellow cars going backwards in the pecking order. McLaren, meanwhile, went the other way as they maintained their impressive upward trajectory to leapfrog Renault in the constructors’ championship.
Pre-season testing gave Ricciardo some hope, with the R.S.20 showing a vast improvement to raise suggestions it was now top of the midfield and potentially slightly closer to the top three. It might be why at the time, when we chatted in Barcelona, he said his future “could be exciting, but I also have a sad feeling it won’t be that exciting”.
But things have changed courtesy of the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the F1 season to be put on hold. With the prospect of no running until July at the earliest, Ricciardo was left with a choice. Wait until the racing starts and see if Renault were a step forward in reality, or head to a team he knows really want him and are already showing they’re on the move.
Ultimately, Ricciardo couldn’t afford to take another risk on Renault, despite them being a manufacturer with a healthy budget and impressive facility. In his mind, that could be the end of the line for him in F1. He realised this could be his last big move. Returning to that chat in Barcelona, as we continued to talk about his future, his next answer was revealing.
“My longevity in the sport will be dictated on how competitive I am, in terms of, for example, if Lewis [Hamilton] wasn’t in a winning car the last few years, if he was in P8 and P9, would he still be in the sport? It’s questionable,” he said.
“If you’re winning, it’s hard to walk away. [Nico] Rosberg did, but for most of us, it would be hard to walk away while winning. I can say today I want to be done by 35, but if I’m winning at 35 and if I’ve still got a chance to win, it would be hard not to keep going.
“It definitely depends on that, how competitive your situation is. But yeah, I’ll definitely be here for a few more years.”
Why did Ricciardo choose McLaren?
Ricciardo simply reckons McLaren are a better prospect. Their switch to Mercedes power from Renault for 2021 was also key. The Australian suffered at the hands of the French manufacturer’s power unit at Red Bull and then again when he moved to the works team. The Mercedes is a proven, near bulletproof power unit.
Unreliability is something that has irked Ricciardo, and rightly so. It has hurt his last three successive campaigns and robbed him of the momentum he had built having made an explosive debut with Red Bull to put then defending champion Vettel in the shade. Ricciardo knows he’s fast, he just wants the opportunity to prove it with silverware.
The McLaren-Mercedes package should be in many ways his perfect next vehicle. Like him, it promises to be fast, consistent, and reliable. The team really want him, so will back him on track and off. And since Andreas Seidl has come onboard as Team Principal, it’s clear this is a team who are sharpening their tools and readying themselves for a return to the forefront in the medium- to long-term future.
They are well placed to capitalise on the new aerodynamic regulations, set to debut in 2022, with technical guru James Key having settled in nicely. Crucially, a focal point of the McLaren brand is to go racing so they are very likely to be around in F1 for the long term. There is less certainty with a manufacturer like Renault, who will also no longer have any engine customers from next year onwards.
If McLaren keep improving, and Ricciardo makes the steps forward he hopes, he has five years before he hits that age where he will consider his time in F1. As he said, if he’s winning, he’ll probably stick around. If he’s not, it could be time to challenge himself outside of F1. Either way, five years is a long time, and by then, McLaren will expect to have a car winning races.
Why did McLaren want Ricciardo?
It’s easy to forget that after the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix, scene of one of Ricciardo’s most impressive victories, the Australian was in title contention, in a car that was third quickest. Unreliability and misfortune put paid to those chances, but the fact he was in that position after six races, with the package he had, proved that he has what it takes to deliver.
Ricciardo is also box office on and off the track. Behind the wheel, he’s not afraid to attempt the most daring of overtakes and is the latest of the late brakers. He also pulls big results – most of his seven wins have been in unpredictable, chaotic races – from nowhere. Once comfortable, he gets everything out of the car and those close to him suggest he’s generally a joy to work with in and out of the garage.
He’ll also be a great benchmark for Lando Norris, who McLaren rate highly and will stay on for a third season with the team in 2021.
Off track, Ricciardo’s infectious personality makes him one of the most popular guys in the paddock and among fans around the world. He’s fun and slots in perfectly to the brand McLaren F1 are building. He’s also a star name, his talent proven, and that sends a powerful message to McLaren’s rivals. They are on their way back, signing the Australian proves just that.