McLaren and Ricciardo last week confirmed a 'mutual termination' of his contract at the end of the 2022 season; the former Red Bull's F1 future is in doubt; Christian Horner also offers opinion on Oscar Piastri saga
Monday 29 August 2022 17:23, UK
Christian Horner says he "doesn't recognise" Daniel Ricciardo as the same driver he was during his time with Red Bull, following the Australian's "very sad" exit from McLaren.
McLaren and Ricciardo last week confirmed a 'mutual termination' of his contract at the end of the 2022 season - a year short of completing the deal he signed when joining the team in 2021, which leaves him without a drive for the 2023 campaign.
Ricciardo has largely been unable to keep pace with McLaren team-mate Lando Norris and has amassed 51 less points than the Brit after 14 races this season.
"It's just very sad," Horner told Sky Sports F1. "Obviously, I'm not close to it. I've spoken to Daniel a little bit.
"I don't recognise him as the same driver as he was with when he was with us. He's one of the best guys out there. He's definitely got that capability.
"His confidence has been zapped. We're used to seeing him on the podium, doing shoeys, messing around with that big smile, and we don't see any of that anymore.
"I hope for him that he finds an opportunity to further his career because I think Formula One is better off having him in this championship than not."
Ricciardo, 33, claimed seven of his eight F1 victories during his five seasons with Red Bull from 2014-2018.
After underlining his status as one of the sport's elite drivers by outperforming four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel in his first season at Red Bull in 2014, Ricciardo would then twice finish ahead of future world champion Max Verstappen after the Dutchman joined the team in 2016.
With Ricciardo frustrated by Verstappen's growing status in the team, he departed for Renault in 2019, before jumping ship to McLaren after just two seasons with the French team.
Ricciardo has expressed his desire to stay in F1, and has been linked with a return to Alpine (formerly Renault), along with the likes of Haas and Williams.
"I hope he finds a seat in Formula One, I hope he finds his mojo, because if you think back to some of the races he drove for us, winning the Monaco GP with 50 per cent of the power, he put in some amazing performances," Horner said.
"You have to think when he was alongside Seb. When he first came into the team, how he delivered, how close he was obviously with Max as well.
"We saw how close those guys were. Max has evolved since Daniel left the team, but Daniel on his day, he was right there, he put in some amazing performances.
"We were sad to see him leave the team."
Ricciardo's exit was confirmed amid an extraordinary ongoing driver transfer saga, at which Australian youngster Oscar Piastri is at the centre of.
Vettel's announcement in July of his retirement at the end of the season triggered a flurry of activity, as Fernando Alonso signed a deal to replace the German at Aston Martin.
Alpine announced they would replace Alonso with current reserve driver Piastri, who issued a response on social media saying he would not be driving for the French team next season.
That led to speculation that Piastri had agreed a deal with McLaren, which was all but confirmed when the team confirmed Ricciardo's departure.
Piastri's future remains up in the air, with Alpine continuing to claim he is legally obliged to drive for them next season. The sport's Contract Recognition Board will meet on Monday to discuss the situation, with a ruling expected ahead of the weekend's Dutch GP, which is live on Sky Sports F1.
Horner admitted he was baffled by the saga, and said he would be surprised if Piastri was not obliged to remain at Alpine.
"I don't fully understand it because contractually that should just never happen," Horner said.
"If Renault or Alpine have invested into his junior career, it's because you invest in youth because you're investing in it for the future, and there has to be an element of loyalty within that.
"I don't understand contractually what's going on there, but for him to be even in a position to think that he doesn't have to drive for Alpine next year, obviously shows that there's something not right.
"Hopefully it will get sorted. He's another great young talent. He drove for the Arden team in Formula 4, Formula Renault, so I know him pretty well and he's a great talent that should be on the grid.
"But there's probably been a bit more mess around his debut than there should be."
Watch the Dutch Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend, with qualifying at 2pm on Saturday and the race at 2pm on Sunday.
