Daniel Ricciardo has had a difficult time for months. The Formula 1 driver in the service of the McLaren racing team simply has too few points on his account to silence the critics. Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve is certain: the Australian will soon have to vacate his cockpit.
“Daniel Ricciardo’s time at McLaren is over,” claims Jacques Villeneuve in his column at “formule1.nl“The Canadian has long since recognized the signs of this from team boss Zak Brown. “Zak Brown says that there are clauses in Ricciardo’s contract and that means that a decision has almost been made.”
According to Villeneuve, that statement is “a way to put pressure on the driver and prepare the media. At the end of the day, he is a highly paid driver who has cost the team a lot of money. He doesn’t score and he doesn’t have the speed that the team needs to develop the car.”
Ricciardo one of the most expensive drivers in Formula 1
If the 51-year-old has his way, it would even be cheaper to “continue to pay Ricciardo’s salary, let him sit on the couch at home and put another driver in the car”. This is “a harsh reality, but that’s Formula 1”.
Daniel Ricciardo probably only has a contract with McLaren until the end of 2022, although neither the racing team nor the driver have ever confirmed the term of the working paper.
It is clear that the pressure is actually more and more on Ricciardo’s shoulders. So far, the veteran has only been able to score eleven championship points. While his team-mate Lando Norris has already scored points five times in seven races and also clinched a podium finish, the Australian even sped past the top ten in six Grands Prix. And because Ricciardo is also one of the most expensive pilots in the field with an estimated annual salary of 15 million euros, the criticism of the “honey badger” is getting louder.