Zak Brown Denies Daniel Ricciardo’s Claim That He Wasn’t in the Loop With Controversial Oscar Piastri Deal

Rookie Oscar Piastri will replace Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren in 2023. The decision came in after McLaren made public the announcement of mutually parting ways with Ricciardo. While earlier it came to light that Ricciardo was not kept in the loop when the team decided to sign fellow Australian driver Piastri, CEO Zak Brown disagrees.

Daniel Ricciardo did not have a good 2021 season with McLaren. McLaren and Ricciardo hoped that the fate would change next year in 2022, however, the Honey Badger’s performance has slumped even more. Ricciardo is currently languishing in 12th position in the driver’s standings, while teammate Lando Norris has fared much better, sitting in 7th.

Zak Brown’s counter to the Daniel Ricciardo claims

McLaren failed to field a competitive car in 2022. The car is much slower than not just 1st and 2nd placed Red Bulls and Ferrari, but they are behind a struggling Mercedes to make matters worse. Despite that, Lando Norris has shown promise and extracted some desirable results. He currently has 101 points under his belt, while his counterpart could only manage 29.

The slump in form prompted McLaren to cut Ricciardo’s 3-year contract short by 1 year.

Zak Brown, recently while talking with Kayo Sports, revealed how disappointed he was to see Daniel go and also cleared the air around Ricciardo being unaware of the team looking to replace him with Oscar Piastri.

Brown added, “It was all transparent, well-communicated and there’s times we can tell people what’s going on and then there’s other times we just can’t”

“What’s most important to me is that when Daniel and I see each other, we give each other a big hug and we’ve got five races to go and we’re going to give it all we’ve got”

Read More: Lando Norris Opens Up on Filling No.1 Driver Role at McLaren With Oscar Piastri

The McLaren CEO admitted that while everything was transparent, there are certain things that cannot be made public.

Daniel Ricciardo’s claim of being unaware of Oscar Piastri’s signing date

Ricciardo spoke with Sky Sports in September, where he confessed he was unaware of the team’s discussions about Oscar’s signing. He said, “To be honest, on the [July 4] date, that’s the first I’ve heard.”

Ricciardo revealed he was aware of the ongoing talks, but was not interested in the team’s talks with Oscar. He said, “What the team does [talking with] Oscar, that’s also not my business in terms of what day they spoke or this or that.”

Watch This Story: Struggling ‘Honey Badger’ Daniel Ricciardo Once Dominated the Streets of Azerbaijan in Glorious 2017

The Honey Badger recently admitted that he will give up on the idea of racing in 2023. The decision followed Alpine’s Pierre Gasly signing announcement. He, however, made clear his intention to make a comeback in Formula 1 in 2024.