(Motorsport) McLaren had prematurely ended Daniel Ricciardo’s contract a year earlier than intended after the Australian had been consistently outperformed by teammate Lando Norris. Ricciardo was subsequently replaced by Oscar Piastri but McLaren boss Zak Brown has reiterated that the Australian could return in the future and his poor performances at the team was a “great mystery”. The 33 year old is aiming to get back on the grid as soon as possible and is currently the reserve driver of Red Bull Racing.
“He’s got the talent. He’s shown us that in Monza and he’s won eight Grands Prix. It’s frustrating, for all of us. I very much hope to see him on the grid again in Formula 1 which is his desire and the door remains open for him to be in a McLaren in the future. If the stars align, I’d love to go racing with him again.
“We think Oscar is going to be a sensational racing driver. If you look at his career to date he’s won a lot of championships in his first year, which always tells you a driver is special. He’s got a great mental approach to the sport and now that we feel Lando has a lot of experience, we feel like we have a great blend of experience and youth – our experience just also happens to have youth. We sit here very excited with the potential of our driver line-up of Lando and Oscar for the foreseeable future.” – McLaren boss Zak Brown
McLaren will feature Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in their lineup for the 2023 season. At 23, Norris is one of Formula 1’s biggest talents and is undoubtedly a potential World Champion if given a competitive car. Oscar Piastri on the other hand is just 21 years old and has previously worked with Alpine as the reserve driver.
The Australian has won Formula 3 and Formula 2 in the past and is considered to be one of the most promising youngsters in motorsport. With such a young lineup, McLaren have their future set up for them and will now focus on the development of their 2023 car to catch up to Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes after a disappointing 2022 season.
Also read: Formula 1: Mercedes unsure about 2023 title hopes after poor 2022 season
