Daniel Ricciardo has accepted that he will not be on the Formula One grid next season with Alpine confirming Pierre Gasly alongside fellow Frenchman Esteban Ocon and AlphaTauri announcing Nyck De Vries as Gasly’s replacement.
The moves, confirmed prior to qualifying for today’s Japanese Grand Prix, means there are now just two vacant seats on the grid for 2023, one at Haas and the other at Williams. And Ricciardo, who has been jettisoned by McLaren 12 months before the end of his contract, admitted he had run out of road.
“To be honest, the Gasly news I was aware of, I knew they were talking for a while and I knew though they were very interested in Pierre,” Ricciardo said after qualifying 11th for this morning’s race. “Let’s say I was prepared for that and no surprise, so we were trying to, let’s say, navigate our way around that and figure out what was next.
“But I think the reality is now I won’t be on the grid in 2023, I think it’s now just trying to set up for ’24.
“I think that there could be some better opportunities then so that’s really what all this confirms and now where the sights are set.”
Ricciardo, 33, has been linked with a move to the United States and IndyCar. Indeed, another former F1 driver Romain Grosjean tweeted yesterday [Sat] that he would love for the Australian to join him. But Ricciardo said he intended to stay involved in F1. A move to Mercedes as their reserve driver now looks like being his best option, with the Brackley team needing a reliable reserve and none of their young drivers yet in a position to fill the role.
“Certainly the plan is still to be involved in F1,” Ricciardo said. “It’s kind of like just hitting pause for a little bit as I see it – and let’s say as far as my F1 career goes the full intention is (to be driving) for ’24.
