McLaren has reportedly informed Daniel Ricciardo it intends to replace him with fellow Australian Oscar Piastri for the 2023 season.
After weeks of speculation, Autosport is reporting the team will now enter settlement negotiations with Ricciardo, who was contracted with the team until the end of 2023.
The publication indicated that Ricciardo may have been offered a seat in McLaren’s Formula E team, which the 33-year-old refused.
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It is widely understood that any performance clauses in Ricciardo’s contract with McLaren laid with the Aussie, meaning only he could leave the team if they’re not performing to his standards and not the other way around.
Paying him out of the contract could cost the Woking squad as much as $21million.
On the other side of the coin, paying off Alpine for Oscar Piastri could also cost McLaren a bucketload – depending on whether or not the issue goes to court.
According to Autosport, in a massive bureaucratic bungle from Alpine, Piastri is able to walk away from the Enstone squad because the 2023 deal was never properly signed, nor submitted to the FIA’s Contract Recognition Board.
The CRB was set up in 1991 after Michael Schumacher signed with the Benetton team – now the modern-day Alpine squad – having already agreed to drive for Jordan, now the modern-day Aston Martin.
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