The hottest driver transfer news/speculation this season has been one and only one (possibly by a country mile) – Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo had been contracted to McLaren until 2023, but his form had begun regressing ever since he left Red Bull. McLaren decided they would rather change than wait for his old self to return.

Daniel Ricciardo came in F1 with strong results in the lower circuits of Formula racing. He started out with Red Bull’s erstwhile sister team, Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri), and was later brought into Red Bull. His performances were largely appreciated, finishing 3rd in the WDC twice for the Austrian team.

But he decided to make a change – he moved to Renault in 2019. With the comfort of hindsight, we can say that move turned out to be disastrous for the Australian driver. Things have only gotten worse since his 2018 departure, peaking with his premature removal from McLaren this season. The driver has been unable to find a new (suitable) seat for himself since the termination of his contract was announced by McLaren.

As curtains come to a close on this season, it is more or less clear – there will be no Ricciardo in 2023. But a reporter might just have gotten a little ahead of herself when she was speaking to him after the Mexican GP.

As Ricciardo finished his interview and said, “Bye F1 world!”, the reporter, Rosanna Tennant, jumped, “No, not yet, not yet.”

“Oh no, I’m saying bye for the day,” Ricciardo clarified. With a sigh of relief, she said, “Oh! You can come back whenever you want okay? You’re always welcome at this desk, you’ve always got a seat here.”

Ricciardo added, “To them that voted as well – for driver of the day. I should say thanks! Gracias.”

Read More: “When I Was With Max…”: Daniel Ricciardo Labels McLaren Experience ‘Bizarre’ as Red Bull Nostalgia Hits Home

Undoubtedly, it is very sad to see a happy and cheery personality like Ricciardo, go away from F1. He always brought good vibes wherever he went. We all hope he will be back to his best soon!

F1 Twitter shares its sadness as the departure of Daniel Ricciardo comes closer

The reporter’s honest reaction was a clear show of how loved Ricciardo is in the F1 community. While adorable, it was a tad bit heartbreaking too – because reality suddenly seemed to dawn on us.

Her emotions are shared by a lot of people on Twitter about his unavailability next season.

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Grid walks and interviews will be vastly different next year with so many new faces present, and so many old ones not. But Ricciardo will reserve the title of ‘Most Missed’ for sure.