Where Might Daniel Ricciardo Go Next?

There are racing drivers. Then there are Formula 1 racing drivers. And then there is Daniel Joseph Ricciardo.

If Daniel Ricciardo were, all of a sudden, to trade places with Russell Crowe’s part in Ridley Scott’s The Gladiator, then he may have said the following in the context of the warrior’s footage as seen in the last scene:

“I am Daniel Ricciardo; driver of a great team, former driver of a team just as great as this one, hero to a million plus fans, lover boy of countless many whose hearts gush at my very sight, winner of Monza 2021, and I shall take my vengeance at having failed at McLaren in this birth or the next.”

For truth be told, where it stands at the moment, it is highly likely that Daniel Ricciardo will face two- if not more- situations where his F1 future is concerned.

A) He will leave F1 altogether

B) He will likely replace Mick Schumacher at Haas.

The chances of Plan B working in the Perth-born driver’s favour may not seem obvious but do, however, seem to be suggest the natural order of things.

But, what things are we talking about?

So, it wasn’t a many million hours ago that the former Red Bull driver (currently struggling with McLaren) was invited by Haas’ Gunther Steiner for a chat. That’s prior to the start of the next F1 race: the 2022 Belgian GP.

What may or may not have been discussed in that meeting is something none can put a finger to and none ever may. Though, what’s known is that if it did happen that Honeybadger of F1 spoke with Steiner, then the talk, more or less, would have certainly revolved around the subject of the Australian driver’s imminent future in the sport.

So can it be that the driver famously described for his prowess in late braking may be headed to Haas? Who knows.

What one does, however, is that there are countless fans around who’ll like to see their favourite driver hang around for long than leave today. They can’t be blamed either; under the guise of the clowny nature, there rests a driver utterly committed to win.

Ricciardo is a hardcore racer; not just a driver! He’s done a fair bit for the sport in that reginited passion of the Australians towards motorsport’s highest echelon (F1).

Moreover, Daniel Ricciardo isn’t known to buckle under pressure; well, at least, he wasn’t so before Lando Norris made the lightwork of the man behind F1’s shoey at McLaren.

Having said that, the following is what Daniel Ricciardo said whilst breaking the news of his McLaren departure on social media:

Sharing the news with his 7.3 million followers on Instagram ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix which ends the sport’s August break, Ricciardo said the development was “bittersweet”. “We put in a lot of effort on both sides but it just hasn’t worked the way we wanted, so the team’s decided to make a change for next year,” said the 33-year-old.

That being said, coming onto the most important subject matter, at least where his imminent future in Grand Prix racing is concerned, here’s what Daniel Ricciardo shared with fans:

“We had a lot of discussions but in the end we mutually agreed it was the right thing for both of us. I will continue to do the rest of this year, absolutely, and continue to give it my all … What lies ahead, I’m not sure yet.”