That’s not to say Ricciardo is overly motivated by his bank balance by any stretch, but as it was pointed out to me by a member of a midfield F1 team recently, it’s easy to forget just how lucrative an uncompetitive seat on the grid can be, and a driver who can attract the sort of salary that Ricciardo can is only able to do so for a limited time. So would you really forgo that return to go and be a bigger fish in a smaller pond (however competitive, challenging and thrilling the racing is) for a much lower wage? Perhaps not.
But it is competitive fire that drives so many of the star names that have a long career on the F1 grid, and Ricciardo is no different. Despite a multi-million-pound pay-off being likely, his eventual departure from McLaren will sting, even if the exit talks might not have been totally unexpected, and so he will be keen for an opportunity to prove Zak Brown, Andreas Seidl et al, wrong.
The likes of Alfa Romeo, Haas and Williams still have seats available that could technically be destinations for Ricciardo, but despite quick cars at two of the three, none seem to have the potential to realistically fight any higher than McLaren and Alpine in the coming few years. They are very much outside options.
So, to make McLaren rue its decisions is likely going to require a return to a team where he previously risked burning bridges, but fortunately for Ricciardo the dynamic has changed. When he left Red Bull for Renault, Ricciardo was the proud acquisition of Cyril Abiteboul, and he duly repaid that faith with two years of very solid results in a car that was rarely a threat to the top three teams.
Ricciardo scored a couple of podiums in his final season at Renault and was a top acquisition for McLaren at the time
When the driver left for McLaren, Abiteboul was hurt and even lashed out slightly with his comments at the time, but the Frenchman has long since departed Alpine and under Laurent Rossi and Otmar Szafnauer the team needs a win.
It might still get it by proving it has a valid contract with Oscar Piastri, of course, but that’s more likely to be a financial victory that would lead to discussions with McLaren to find a mutually agreeable solution. For a sporting one, what better riposte to the past few months than to take the driver McLaren deemed an unsalvageable project and turn around his fortunes to the detriment of his former team?
Until the Piastri situation is solved, Alpine is of course not going to announce the signing of any other driver. It needs to stand firm where its reserve driver is concerned and see through its attempts to keep hold of him. He’s an exciting talent after all.
I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) August 2, 2022
But surely the management team at Enstone knows that re-signing Ricciardo and trying to make McLaren regret its call has the potential to be a win-win for both sides should the younger Australian be confirmed as having a future elsewhere.
From Ricciardo’s perspective, it might seem like a backward step to return to the team he didn’t deem his best hope of future success just two years ago, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the best option on the table to try and improve the outlook for his F1 career right now.
You couldn’t blame him for wanting a fresh start elsewhere, but the Alpine drive is likely to be the most competitive seat available to Ricciardo in F1, and if proving people wrong is foremost in his mind then he’s likely to want it.