As His Own F1 Dreams Crashed, Poised Daniel Ricciardo Breaks Down His Call With McLaren Successor Oscar Piastri

Daniel Ricciardo did not have the best time of his career with McLaren over the last two years. Most F1 pundits who have seen him in his glory days failed to understand the reason behind the slump in form. Soon McLaren announced the signing of his fellow Australian driver Oscar Piastri, which did not go down well with a lot of fans. Ricciardo has now opened up about how he felt about the whole situation.

Daniel Ricciardo arrived at McLaren with a burden of huge expectations on his shoulder. He was expected to drive the team forward being the senior driver to young Lando Norris. However, the Honey Badger failed to score more points in both seasons than his teammate despite managing a win in Italy last year.

Daniel Ricciardo opens up on Oscar Piastri receiving hate from fans

Oscar Piastri impressed everyone with his 2021 F2 championship win. The successful title run saw him land a 3rd driver’s seat at Alpine. Alpine wanted to promote the Australian driver to a regular role. However, a ruling from the Contract Regulation Board (CRB) saw him make a move to McLaren. The move meant he would replace Daniel Ricciardo in the 2022 season, which saw him take the brunt of fans’ fury.

Daniel, who was going through a tumultuous time himself, told Oscar he felt for him on a phone call. In the latest episode of In the Fast Lane: F1 and MotoGP podcast, Ricciardo revealed, “I felt for him, and don’t get me wrong. Of course, my career was in a way going to itself. So, I was certainly occupied with myself and trying to figure out what the hell I’m going to do. But, at the same time, I was aware of some of the comments and stuff that was going towards him.”

“I felt for him, I think for a few reasons. One is, it should be like, one of the biggest moments of your life, getting into Formula 1, it’s a dream come true. If it can’t really be enjoyed or celebrated then it’s a bit of a shame.”

Read More: “I Was So Angry”: NASCAR Fanboy Daniel Ricciardo Reveals Violent Childhood Incident That Details His Love for the Sport

After going winless for a whole season, Daniel has now taken up the role of a 3rd driver at Red Bull. The Honey Badger aims to make a comeback in 2024 as a regular after gathering his thoughts. Former F1 champion Nico Rosberg, however, has failed to understand why Ricciardo hasn’t performed well lately.

Nico Rosberg reveals his cluelessness about Daniel Ricciardo’s failure at McLaren

Arriving at Red Bull in 2014, Daniel Ricciardo took the world of F1 by storm by beating his 4-time world champion teammate Sebastian Vettel.

Nico Rosberg recalled the impressive stint on Sky Sports’ Any Driven Monday recently. He said, “He is the one who beat Sebastian Vettel in the same car, let’s remember that, over the whole season fair and square back at Red Bull.”

“He is an awesome driver so strange to understand why the last two years with two completely different cars he wasn’t able to deliver, I don’t understand it.”

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Do you think the Honey Badger’s best years are behind him? Or does he have enough fire left to make a comeback and showcase his talent?