A fan favorite like Daniel Ricciardo not a part of the next season’s grid lineup? It was obvious that this conversation would stretch for a long time. His talent and ability were things most fans and teams agreed on – but the piece never fit the puzzle.

From a time when he finished twice at P3 in the World Drivers’ Championship, Danny’s career has suffered a shockingly steep fall. He could not find himself a space as the #1 on the Red Bull team. So he decided to leave in search of greener pastures. Looking back, he will agree that did not work out for him. 

With stints at Renault first, and now McLaren, his stock has kept falling down. It hit bottom when the team decided to prematurely terminate his agreement for a younger talent, Oscar Piastri.

The rest of the season has gone around speculation of what he will do in 2023. Ricciardo finally revealed what the year is going to look like for him. Speaking to The Race, he said “It’s always not as simple as it looks from the outside [racing at the back-of-the-grid]. And you’ve got to weigh it up.”

He explained, “I know what it’s been like racing in the front, and then racing in the midfield and all that. And there’s no guarantee next year what team is going to be fighting for what position, but at this point, and I know it’s a risk, I want a bit more of a sure thing. And it’s like, I don’t want to risk just putting myself in a position where I’m going to just be at the back and be like, ‘what am I still doing here?’. I don’t want to resent the sport in a way. I kind of love it too much.”

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From driving for the second-best team on the grid with Red Bull to now not having a seat, his career went south really fast. Maybe a break from the sport will help him get back to his lethal best. Time will be the judge of his decision.

Daniel Ricciardo could have an opening with Haas

As Haas continues to ponder about renewing Mick Schumacher’s contract for next season, Guenther Steiner openly flirted with the idea of the Australian racing for the team next year.

Steiner said, “If he’s interested in us, he’s not shy to call me up. I am not going to chase him down. I think he’s a good driver and I don’t know how he got in the situation he’s in now, but I think he needs to come clean with himself and decide what he’s going to do. For us he would be a big hit. He was a race winner and now he is without a job. He was a race winner just last year. I rate him as a driver. I have no idea why he doesn’t perform right now. That is for him to figure out.”

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The Australian sounded confident about his decision to not want to compete for the last few places. A seat at Haas doesn’t seem likely, but you never know.