McLaren has confirmed Daniel Ricciardo will defect from Renault to McLaren for the 2021 Formula One season.
The Australian was in the frame to take Sebastian Vettel’s seat at Ferrari when the German announced his shock season-end departure from the team on Tuesday, but Carlos Sainz was Maranello’s first option, leaving the Australian to manoeuvre himself into the Spaniard’s vacated McLaren seat alongside Lando Norris.
It completes overtures made by the Woking team two years ago. McLaren threw their hat into the ring when Ricciardo was considering leaving Red Bull Racing in 2018, but their mid-table form underwhelmed compared to Renault’s strong fourth-place championship finish, and the French team’s eye-watering pay offer sealed the deal.
“Daniel is a proven race-winner and his experience, commitment and energy will be a valuable addition to McLaren and our mission to return to the front of the field. With Daniel and Lando as teammates, I believe we have two racers who will continue to excite our fans and help the team grow,” McLaren Team Principal Andreas Seidl said.
The gamble began looking shaky immediately. Not only did McLaren leap forward to snatch fourth in the standings, but Renault spluttered to 31 fewer points than they scored in 2018 to finish 54 in arrears of their chief rival.
Ricciardo scored points only eight times to end the year ninth in the drivers standings, his worst finish since 2013.
But now he gets a second roll of the dice.
It’s difficult not to view Ricciardo’s switch as a vote of no confidence in the French team’s outlook on returning to the front with the regulation changes due in 2022.
Ricciardo’s time at Renault didn’t go to plan. (Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Pool via AP)
Not only did the team’s 2019 form fail to impress, but 2020 preseason testing suggested they hadn’t managed to retake the initiative from McLaren. Combined with persistent questions about the parent company’s enthusiasm for the expensive F1 project, especially in these financially straitened times of COVID-19, and the risks associated with staying put notably increase.
But Ricciardo’s second seat swap in as many years will come with risks of its own. While McLaren is a historic F1 brand of storied success, they have been notably diminished in the turbo-hybrid era and are undertaking their own rebuild. And long gone are the days of their Mercedes works deal to give it an edge – today, they works alone.
Ricciardo will also be leaving a team at which his number one status was largely assured for one in which Lando Norris has two seasons’ head start establishing himself, and while the Australian will back himself against a driver in only his third year, failure to keep the Briton contained will reflect poorly on him.
It’s hard to escape the sideways nature of the move too. Even if this phase of Ricciardo’s career, typically a racing driver’s prime, is characterised by positioning himself to capitalise on a midfield team winning big under new rules, inescapable is that he’s locked out of winning machinery, and the longer he’s off the podium, the more likely he is to fade into the background of a talented grid of drivers, most of whom are now younger than him.
But McLaren does offer some substantial upsides. Not only is Woking in a purple patch in their on-track recovery – and factory upgrades promise to enhance this upswing – but they’re due to switch to Mercedes power from next season, and the German motor is at minimum the equal best on the grid. Certainly this inspires more confidence than the Renault engine, which by most accounts is now the least powerful in Formula One.
McLaren had a strong season in 2019. (Photo by Xavier Bonilla/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Moreover, the opportunity to make himself the lead driver in time for 2022 remains in play, and job security is arguably better at the F1-centric business compared to Renault and the French constructor’s history of withdrawal.
In this respect, McLaren even compares favourably to what would likely have been on offer at Ferrari. While race wins would no doubt have been on the table, clear is Ferrari’s desire to back Charles Leclerc as their long-term leader, a not dissimilar situation to the one Ricciardo abandoned at Red Bull Racing. In the notoriously pressure-cooker political environs of Maranello, Daniel would be risking career destruction. Just ask four-time champion Sebastian Vettel. Or Fernando Alonso.
The bottom line is the ultimate success of Ricciardo’s career is out of his hands, and while it would be churlish and inaccurate to describe this as the move of a journeyman, he needs this latest gamble to pay off. McLaren must deliver if Australia is to get a third Formula One world champion.
With the rules changing in 2022 at the earliest, the year of Ricciardo’s 33rd birthday, the clock is ticking ever louder on his quest to take home the championship.
Simoc
Roar Rookie
So funny seeing this in hindsight. So Ocon won a Grand Prix with Alpine (formerly Renault) and Dan won one with McLaren. Both cars are up and down the grid this season so not much to be learnt except that: Norris has been mostly in front of Dan, which I expected for the first half of season. Ricciardo takes a while to settle into a new car. Next season is the key. McLaren have definitely improved with the Merc engine. Next season we will see if Dans move was good. He had a chance to be a number one driver at Renault/Alpine. That opportunity will never happen for him again. While on equivalent status he is McLarens number 2 back up boy. Next season will be definitive for all the players. I'm expecting a resurgence from Ferrari because of their driver line-up, the best by my reckoning.
Simoc
Guest
Well you quite obviously don't see Ricciardos frequent Youtube videos with most everyone. He was 100% totally committed to winning a WDC with the Renault as the rule changes took effect,and then he took the first offer to bail out like a rat down a drain pipe. He's very popular and well liked and his trading that for money. He won't be winning or getting close to winning any F1 title ever. He doesn't have the spine.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
Just following up on HR's comment to a thread above, it does seem like either you've got something against Ricciardo or you're a massive Renault fan. Which is absolutely fine — it's just a sport, you can feel what you like, that's the whole point — but to say "every F1 team knows he talks s**t" or his Renault stint has so far been a "miserable failure" is pretty outlandish. The first is patently untrue, and I'd entertain the second only if you were putting it in the sense his gamble on the team hasn't paid off, but I think that'd be a generous reading of your commentary. I'd also suggest McLaren is likely paying him less than he stood to make had he renewed at Renault, even accounting for the fact he'd have been sure to make less there than he currently does owing to the financial climate.
HR
Roar Rookie
Roberts left because Seidl was appointed and it effectively meant that he could rise no higher in the management structure. You're right that it probably wasn't because of Ricciardo, given that it happened 11 months ago.
HR
Roar Rookie
So the MCL33 was actually a great car, it’s just that Alonso had an off year? Come on mate. The absolute best drivers might be able to get some results in an imperfect car, but if it’s a lemon, it’s simply not going to do well, good driver or not. The MCL33 got McLaren to sixth in the WCC with 62 points, the MCL34 got them to fourth with 145 points – it doesn’t take a genius to work out that it’s not purely the input of Sainz that made the difference. In fact, Sainz placed exactly where you would expect him to place, based on the fact that he had the fourth-best car in the field – sixth, because the third-best car in the field was shared by a driver bad enough that he was demoted, and another that scored twice as many points as Sainz in the last half of the season – had Albon been in the RB15 for the whole season, he would have comfortably outscored Sainz. Regarding the difference between Sainz and Ricciardo, we can look to their respective seasons at Renault. If we go purely by points, Ricciardo is superior to Sainz – he finished the 2019 season ninth on 54 points, Sainz finished the 2018 season ninth on 53 points. Sainz was also outdriven by Hülkenberg (seventh on 69 points in 2018), while Ricciardo outdrove Hülkenberg (who was 14th with 37 points in 2019). Unless Hülkenberg suffered a Massa-after-Hungary level drop in form between 2018 and 2019, it’s pretty clear that Ricciardo is the superior driver to Sainz. As for your attitude, it’s hard to tell exactly what your problem is, but either you’re reflexively very protective of Renault (you’re certainly rushing to their defence), or you really don’t like Ricciardo. I’m not sure which, and I don’t particularly care, but you may want to have a think about that before you come in and spaff opinions all over the place devoid of any evidence to back them up.
Simoc
Guest
"A dog of a car" well maybe you don't know but if your car is great to drive but you're at the back of the grid its a dog. The driver takes the pay and the credit/blame. Dans been a flop at Renault. It's him and not the car. You have to be pretty thick not to notice they've been trying to cover for him. Soon we'll see how nobodies deliver in a Renault.
Simoc
Guest
Yes and would you believe it. McLaren senior engineer Roberts pulled the pin, probably not because of Dan, but he's off to Williams. Certainly no confidence in McLaren there. Can't escape the fact that Dan has been a miserable failure at Renault and was happy to take the money and run. Very Australian but every F1 team knows he talks s**t now. And Sainz scored with McLaren and got the gig where people think you've made it. Only stats count but Dan has capitulated to the money making route. Talk is cheap.
Dexter The Hamster
Roar Rookie
Hard to believe someone born and bred in Monte Carlo would be entitled!!! :silly: :silly:
Michael Lamonato
Expert
It's a journeyman move but he can't be called a journeyman. But this is his last gamble before he risks that tag. Like you say, at the moment no-one but Mercedes is winning titles til at least 2022, you'd think. Until then everyone's just jockeying to be in what they think is the best position to be next when the rules change.
HR
Roar Rookie
The McLaren noticeably improved because the MCL33 was an absolute dog of a car with a compromised rear suspension and aero design, due in part to the change in engine suppliers, which was sufficiently bad that the technical director of the team was fired. Alonso was 11th in the championship with the MCL33, while Lando Norris managed the same position in the MCL34 in his rookie year, and I don't imagine that there are many people who would suggest that a rookie Norris was a better driver than 2018 Alonso.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Yes, I hope he does well. Leclerc, like Verstappen, is a bit of an entitled brat as they've been earmarked for greatness from a young age and had their arses kissed, so it would be good to see Sainz ruffle his feathers.
Dexter The Hamster
Roar Rookie
Hey Micko, agree that its sad Danny Ric would be at Ferrari. But as mentioned in another article, I'm not convinced that Carlos wont "rock the boat". He can be a bit firey at times, and won't love being the number 2 driver for long, regardless of what his contract says. I'm really looking forward to it, should be a great battle, with hopefully a few tears and tantrums to keep us entertained in 2021.
Dexter The Hamster
Roar Rookie
"McLaren even compares favourably to what would likely have been on offer at Ferrari". I agree. The old romantic in me would love to see Dan in the scarlet car, but realistically, as far as winning the DWC is concerned, its just as likely to be in a McLaren as a Ferrari.
TJP
Roar Rookie
On the surface, it seems like he got 2nd prize, but when you delve a bit more into it, it has the potential to be the best option. It will be interesting to see if he can mix it with the top 3 with the Mercedes engine. It would have been a pretty easy decision to jump ship given that McLaren already has the better aerodynamics package, and will then get a vastly superior engine as opposed to staying at Renault.
Simoc
Guest
Ricciardos move is absolutely that of a journeyman who won't ever win a WDC in F1. But he'll have fun and make plenty of money in the couple of seasons he has left at the top level. You forgot to mention the Mercedes engines that have been winning F1 races and titles have been inside Mercedes cars. And that isn't about to change in the foreseeable future. The McLaren noticeably improved with Carlos Sainz behind the wheel and with a Renault motor and that would be why Ferrari want him.
Micko
Roar Rookie
McLaren's dramatic improvement last year, plus a switch back to the clearly superior Mercedes engines in time for the rule changes in 2022 means he has cause for optimism...something he didn't really have at Renault.
Micko
Roar Rookie
It’s sad for Dan not to get the Ferrari seat but Sainz was always favoured from media reports, since Leclerc is clearly the #1 driver there, and Ferrari have invested a lot of time, money and faith in Leclerc since he was a Ferrari junior driver too. Ricciardo unfortunately wouldn’t get the seat if Sainz wanted it since he would rock the boat there, and that’s not what Ferrari want.
JGK
Roar Guru
Exciting move for Daniel.