Guenther Steiner Makes Terrifying Daniel Ricciardo Prophecy Years After Terrible Alpine “Divorce”

Daniel Ricciardo made a huge splash in the Formula 1 town last year. At first, McLaren replaced him with fellow Aussie racer Oscar Piastri. Even though the Honey Badger’s contract with Zak Brown’s team continued into 2023, they prematurely ended it, leaving no choice for the Melbourne native but to skip the Formula 1 season altogether. But then, Red Bull turned out to be Ricciardo’s savior, as they had a role for him on their reserve team.

But Daniel Ricciardo did not have to stay away from the race track for too long. In the middle of last year, Red Bull’s Chief Advisor Helmut Marko was dissatisfied with AlphaTauri (Red Bull’s sister team) recruit Nyck deVries. Thus, Marko, who is also responsible for the recruitment of AlphaTauri, replaced deVries with Ricciardo. And at the start of 2024, AlphaTauri remodeled into Visa CashApp Racing Bulls, or VCARB.

Before Red Bull’s deal came through in 2023, rumors claimed Daniel Ricciardo had talks with Haas’ team principal, Guenther Steiner. However, the Honey Badger had reportedly asked for a sum that did not fit the American team’s budget, and hence they did not hire him. Now, it looks like times have reversed, and Steiner is speculating on what the future will look like for Daniel Ricciardo if he fails to retain his seat at VCARB.

Is Guenther Steiner writing Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 future?

In the last few years, Daniel Ricciardo has switched allegiances from Renault to McLaren, then to Red Bull, and then to AlphaTauri, which is now known as VCARB. But in his tenure at VCARB, the 8-time Grand Prix winner, Ricciardo, has only scored 5 championship points so far this season. This is too little compared to his teammate Yuki Tsunoda‘s 19 points. Hence, there is a massive chance that VCARB will drop the Australian racer next year.

It could be due to these prevailing reasons that on ‘The Red Flags Podcast‘, Guenther Steiner sounded doubtful as he considered the possibility of Daniel Ricciardo making another team switch. He said, “I think if he doesn’t re-sign with Visa CashApp, he retires, yeah.” And given that Danny Ricc is reaching the age of 34, of course, it sounds like retirement may be on the cards for him, as most Formula 1 drivers leave the sport during their mid-30s.

Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault “Divorce”

Daniel Ricciardo left Red Bull in 2018 and took up Renault on their massive offer, which made him one of the highest-paid racers at the time. But only two years later, the Aussie left when the team became Alpine. Now that VCARB might not renew Ricciardo’s contract for next year, he could possibly go to Alpine for a seat as Esteban Ocon is parting ways with the French squad.

But Guenther Steiner believes Daniel Ricciardo will not go back to Alpine. He said, “I think they’re [Alpine] still bitter from what happened last time. I think, for Daniel, going back to Renault is a little like being divorced and now they’re back together after a few years.” Indeed, Daniel had not left Renault on good terms, as he picked McLaren quite suddenly back in 2020.

At the age of 34, Daniel Ricciardo is already nearing the time when Sebastian Vettel left Formula 1. However, if Ricciardo leaves now, he will not get his shot at winning the World Championship anymore. Do you think it would be a good idea for him to leave Formula 1 without the world title he so desired? Let us know in the comments below!