Daniel Ricciardo can’t seem to catch a break. As we all know, first came the untimely and extremely disrespectful sacking from McLaren. However, after things started looking up and he got back to the grid, his replacement forced him into an accident because of which he broke his hand. The broken hand is set to keep Ricciardo out for a few weeks. Regardless of his treatment, Ricciardo is an optimistic man and he will do everything he can to return to the grid ASAP. In fact, most thought the happy-go-lucky Australian did not harbor any ill feelings towards his former boss and team. However, as it turns out, that is not the case.

The Australian had never spoken ill about McLaren despite their selfish and insulting treatment of him. Even though Ricciardo was blamed for Oscar Piastri getting hate, the Australian only wished well for his fellow countryman. However, Ricciardo did not extend this courtesy to McLaren CEO Zak Brown.

As revealed by F1gossipofficial on Instagram, Brown follows Ricciardo on Instagram, but the opposite isn’t true anymore. Following Brown’s betrayal, the Australian isn’t on the best terms with his former boss and does not follow him on the social media platform.

This is the second bridge Ricciardo has burned with an individual in the McLaren camp. The first is his former coach Michael Italiano, who is his current teammate, Yuki Tsunoda‘s coach. AlphaTauri hired Italiano after he was no longer part of Ricciardo’s entourage.

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However, Ricciardo’s separation from Italiano was just a domino effect of his ousting from McLaren. Something he is unable to forget and something Brown isn’t willing to take the blame for.

Zak Brown defends himself in the ill-treatment of Daniel Ricciardo during the McLaren ousting

During the entire Ricciardo-McLaren saga, the fans were extremely enraged with the Woking outfit’s leaders. Zak Brown amassed most of the online hate for the inevitable separation. However, despite all the commotion and finger-pointing, Brown insisted there was no secrecy and the entire process was carried out with the utmost respect. This is exactly why Brown refused to assume the blame for Ricciardo’s early contract termination.

As per the interview on Mclaren’s YouTube channel, Brown said, “I know what really happened. I know the relationship that I really have with Daniel and his management and how transparent it was and how collaborative it was.” He added, “It wasn’t easy on anyone, but it wasn’t what a lot of people made it out to be. That’s frustrating! Because you kind of unfairly get accused of certain actions which you know and he knows and those who are actually close to it know that’s actually not what happened.”

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Ricciardo is a fan favorite and we can see why everyone involved in making his life miserable in F1 will receive backlash. However, Brown’s comments about his relationship with Ricciardo and the Australian’s social media activity paint a different picture.