It wasn’t a memorable journey with McLaren for Daniel Ricciardo. The Honey badger confirmed that he won’t be racing in F1 next season. McLaren terminated their contract with the Australian driver and signed his compatriot, Oscar Piastri. While Daniel had the opportunity to drive for other teams, he has decided to take a break from racing.

Daniel Ricciardo has entertained the fans with some tremendous driving. From his Red Bull days to his Renault stint, the Australian was always a ‘hot property’ in F1. However, his McLaren stint was a big disappointment. The Honey badger looked like he had lost his aggressiveness while driving.

The mid-season contract feud involving Oscar Piastri, Alpine, and McLaren didn’t help his confidence much either. But Ricciardo showed just what the F1 paddock and McLaren were going to miss in his absence in Mexico. The Australian driver rolled back the clock and displayed some stunning driving to take home important points for McLaren.

However, still, without a team for next year, Daniel revealed his plans for next year in a recent podcast. Talking to Tom Segura in his podcast, Daniel said, “It’s part of the fun as well”. Daniel continued, “I mean, I’m not going to race next year. I’m not gonna race F1, so my eyes are certainly still set on F1, but it’s, with everything that’s been going on, I’m like, I need the time off”.

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He further added, “I need the way, kind of the contracts and everything shapes up. I think 2024 is potentially smarter as well for me to like, set my eyes on that and then get the time off to reset and reboot.”

Former F1 champion does not believe Daniel Ricciardo will return to F1

After 11 rollercoaster years on the F1 grid, Daniel Ricciardo won’t be driving in F1 next year. The former Red Bull driver is most likely to take up a reserve driver role next year. It is rumored that Mercedes are the front runners to snap his services. However, nothing has been confirmed yet by either side.

The former world champion Jenson Button does not believe that Daniel Ricciardo will make it back to the F1 grid. The 8 GP winner will race in his final 2 races for McLaren in Brazil and Abu Dhabi. Button told Sky Sports, “It’s a tricky one, And I really struggle to see him coming back to a competitive team after having a year out.”

Moreover, the former Brawn GP driver also believes that Daniel should have accepted the Haas or Williams seat. He added, “It is tough. But I still think it would have been a better move for him.”

Button continued, “Go into a team, work hard, show people what you can do, in a car that maybe suits your car a bit more, and then people forget what happened the year before.”

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Will he or won’t he? That seems to be the big question regarding Daniel Ricciardo’s return to the grid. The Australian still has what it takes to race in F1. Will any F1 team gamble on the Honey badger?