“There’s One Big Carrot…”: Sacked Daniel Ricciardo Advised to Grab This Major Break 4 Years From Now

Recently, an F1 journalist and F1 speculators got together on a recent podcast where they discuss the ups and downs brewing in the F1 world. They delved into career moves and talked more about the possibilities of the F1 future with big names like Audi entering the scene in the year 2026.

McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo is all geared up to leave the grid for the year 2023. Although he might not be completely away from the sport, as he may be taking up the role of a reserve driver at Mercedes, or Red Bull. The men on the podcast scrutinized the future possibilities for the Aussie in the upcoming years.

ESPN F1 Journalist Nate Saunders said, “Ricciardo going back to Alpine is pretty unlikely given the fact they had the chance this year, they didn’t take him. Don’t think he’d go back to McLaren so suddenly you’ve got two teams in the middle that look very unlikely.”

Discussing Alex Albon‘s driving career graph, the men shed light on how Albon’s role as a reserve driver at Red Bull served him well. Even though he wasn’t active on the grid and wasn’t in the limelight, he has managed to stay connected and has finally found his way on the grid this season.

Assessing the fact that things could work out similarly for Daniel Ricciardo, Saunders continued, “Theres one big carrot on for a lot of drivers at the moment and that’s Audi coming in, in ’26. If I was Ricciardo, what I’d think is if I’m taking this year out, let’s make sure that when Audi look at who they want for 26, you know the team is obviously now as Alfa Romeo, that I’m top of their list. I’m available. I am in form,” he concluded.

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Amid all the rumors, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff shed some light on a potential Daniel Ricciardo move.

Toto Wolff tells where they stand in terms of deciding on a reserve driver and whether it would be Daniel Ricciardo

The speculations around the Aussie moving to Mercedes have gotten stronger over the months. However, Mercedes’ boss has come forth to clarify that nothing has been set in stone yet. He claimed that he does not wish to ‘put any rumors out there.’

Toto Wolff in a recent interview regarding the Honey Badger – Mercedes merge, said, “For us, we very much like him, he’s a great character.”

“But we are not in a position to decide who is going to be reserve and third driver. I don’t want to put any rumors out there, because we haven’t decided,” he said.

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Ricciardo does have the potential to be a good fit for Mercedes going forward and, with everything that he brings to the table, things may go his way, eventually.

What do you think about the Daniel Ricciardo seat debate? Do you think the Honey Badger is making the right decision?