Not so long ago the brightest star in baseball, Fernando Tatis Jr. has turned out to be a fool who thinks everyone else is just as big a fool.
Tatis was busted by MLB on Friday for taking an anabolic steroid, and reacted by issuing a statement that it would only fly if the country had 100 per cent illiteracy or everyone’s internet were permanently down, the New York Post reported.
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Tatis said he “inadvertently” took the performance enhancing drug Clostebol to treat ringworm, and apparently either he, his agent or his marketing guy thought the world would mistake Clostebol, the synthetic anabolic steroid he was caught with, for Clobetasol, a common drug used to treat skin foods like eczema and psoriasis that also requires a prescription. Clostebol is never prescribed for skin defects or ringworm. Of course, there had actually been a medical mix-up – extremely unlikely since one is a Schedule 4 anabolic steroid and the other a common corticosteroid – he’d have documentary proof since he’d have the prescription from the doctor.
In effect, Tatis was busted again. You do not have to be an internet sleuth to disprove his unbelievable story about him. Tatis needs to employ better liars, but more than that, he needs to clean up his own act. The first half of his season was wiped out in a fit of foolishness. This is much worse.
Tatis’ 80-game PED suspension, announced Friday, stings all of baseball, but it really hurts the exciting Padres, who have energized their sleepy but beautiful burg. Padres general manager AJ Preller texted: “We have a good team. (We) will rally from this.”
Perhaps they will, but as of today they may have somewhat less faith in Tatis’s $341 million ($A477m) 14-year contract.
Tatis did say one believable thing in his statement, proclaiming he was “completely devastated” by his transgression, which we assume is true. Because he is now forever known as just another cheat among the long pantheon of cheats who have populated the game. A select few cheats show some real remorse or a hint of honesty. To this point Tatis is not one of those.
Preller, speaking about Tatis to Padres writers, said: “I think what we need to get to is a point in time where we trust. … Over the course of the last six or seven months I think that’s been something that we haven’t really been able to have.”
The Padres issued a statement saying they are “hopeful Fernando will learn from this experience.” In their statement, ringworm was not mentioned.
On the field Tatis is a prodigy. Off it, I need help.
The biggest question now is: How long has this been going on? More to the point, do we think it’s conceivable he just decided to enhance his performance via drugs while on the injured list and well after he’d already signed his $341 million deal? Or did he win his record deal partly via medicinal means?
Tatis had some amazing achievements leading up to his record contract. And now we all have to wonder about it, and them.
What’s no mystery is the disaster that is his 2022 season, which began with a wrist injury apparently suffered joy-riding on a motorbike. That injury, which he neglected to tell the team about until he showed up at spring training, wiped out 70 per cent of the season. The incredible thing about that was when he was asked whether the cycling accident caused the wrist injury, he answered, “Which one?” The implication was clear. He exercised so little caution he had had multiple motorcycle accidents.
Sadly, as it turns out, carelessness appears to be the least of his weaknesses.
This story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.
Hulking Aussie Jordan Mailata had murderous intentions on Saturday after New York Jets linebacker Quincy Williams delivered a boneheaded moment.
Williams hit Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts out of bounds on a third-down play in the first quarter that drew a penalty flag and the ire of Eagles coach Nick Sirianni.
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On third-and-5 at the Jets’ 35-yard-line, Hurts scrambled toward the Jets’ sideline. He clearly was out of bounds when Williams drilled him. Sirianni was incensed and walked onto the field, screaming in the direction of the Jets sideline and head coach Robert Saleh. Hurts was not injured and continued the drive, which ended with him throwing a 22-yard touchdown to Dallas Goedert.
Saleh was not happy with Williams and said he spoke to Sirianni after the game, a 24-21 Jets win, about the play.
“Egregiously awful by Quincy,” Saleh said. “He knows that. He knows better. Those are the plays Quincy has to get out of his game if he wants to become the linebacker that we all think he can be.”
Mailata, the Eagles left tackle, was quick to remonstrate with Williams as the monster came storming in and let him know about it.
NBCS Philadelphia journalist Dave Zangaro wrote: “Jordan Mailata said he was “seeing red” when Jalen Hurts took that shot on the sideline. He wouldn’t repeat what he said at the moment.”
The hit left fans watching on incensed as the angry reactions flooded in towards Williams and his horror shot.
The Jets will be sweating on the outcome of their own quarterback after Zach Wilson went down on the second drive of the game.
Wilson scrambled and went down with no contact, leaving many to fear he had torn his ACL which would end his season before it even officially begins.
“I’m always concerned until you get the final evaluation,” Saleh said. “We’ve walked off the field with very positive thoughts and it’s been opposite. We’ve walked off the field with bad initial readings and it’s been the opposite. I’m just going to let it play out and we’ll see.”
Australian Jordan Mailata was fired up after an unnecessary late shot from New York’s Quincy Williams sent Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts crashing to the ground.
The Jets scored a 24-21 win over the Eagles in the pre-season game but coach Robert Saleh was left less than impressed by Williams’ cheap shot.
The incident, which happened in the first quarter, saw Hurts forced to scramble towards the sideline on a third-and-5 play for no gain.
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Williams though came charging towards Hurts, even with the Eagles quarterback clearly heading for the sideline, hitting him late and hard.
That was to the displeasure of Australian left tackle Mailata, who came running over to confront Williams, telling reporters post-game he was “seeing red” after the hit.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was also livid, with the Eagles awarded a 15-yard penalty which ultimately led to them scoring the opening touchdown of the game.
Jets coach Saleh admitted to reporters after the game that it was a bad look and something Williams needed to address.
“You know, it’s one thing to make a mistake in the game,” Saleh said, calling the hit ““egregiously awful”.
“It’s another thing to make a mistake that leads to points.”
Hurts was not injured by the shot, although the Jets will be sweating on quarterback Zach Wilson after he injured his right knee on a scramble in the first quarter.
Based on how Wilson went down, there was fear that he had torn his ACL, which would end his season.
But after the game, head coach Robert Saleh said initial tests indicated the ACL was intact, but nothing would be known with certainty until Wilson underwent an MRI exam on Saturday. Sources said the Jets had optimism that Wilson’s injury will only cause him to miss weeks and not months.
After initially being wrong on his diagnosis of tackle Mekhi Becton earlier in the week, Saleh chose his words carefully in the postgame press conference.
Zach Wilson walks to the locker room after an injury. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
“I’m always concerned until you get the final evaluation,” Saleh said. “We’ve walked off the field with very positive thoughts and it’s been opposite. We’ve walked off the field with bad initial readings and it’s been the opposite. I’m just going to let it play out and we’ll see [Saturday].”
The injury came on the Jets’ second drive of the game.
Saleh said Wilson “100 percent” should have gone out of bounds.
“It was tough, man to see a guy like that, a guy that you’ve got so much love for not just as a player but as a person to go down like that it was tough,” wide receiver Corey Davis said. “We do n’t know the extent of his injury to him but we just hope he’s all right.”
Wilson also injured his right knee last season as a rookie. That injury, a sprained PCL suffered on Oct. 24 at New England, cost Wilson four games. ESPN reported Friday that the Jets believe the new injury also may be to Wilson’s PCL.
The Jets have high hopes for Wilson in his second season after a disappointing rookie season. The entire offseason was about surrounding Wilson with better talent.
Zach Wilson failed to finish the game. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
For a while it looked like the lowlight of Wilson’s night would be an interception by Eagles linebacker Kyzir White that ended the Jets’ first drive of the game. Wilson went 3-for-5 for 23 yards and the interception before suffering the injury.
If Wilson is ruled out, the question will become whether the Jets will stick with veteran Joe Flacco as their starter or try to make a trade for 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, whom San Francisco has been trying to trade for months without finding a taker. Saleh and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur were with Garoppolo for 3 ½ years in San Francisco.
“You guys know how I feel about Joe,” Saleh said of Flacco. “Everyone does, the whole world does. Joe is a phenomenal football player. He’s having a great camp and he’s got a juice left.”
Things got ugly for Ben Simmons in Philadelphia and if Kevin Durant is not careful, he could be heading down a similar path in Brooklyn — if he is not already.
But could that be all part of the Nets superstar’s master plan?
Well, Durant certainly got the NBA world talking earlier in the week then he issued an ultimatum that left Nets owner Joseph Tsai in a tricky situation.
Durant, who requested a trade in June, reportedly told Tsai he needs to choose between the 12-time All-Star and the pairing of head coach Steve Nash and GM Sean Marks.
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A subsequent report from The New York Post laid out Durant’s specific grievances with the team, including a lack of consultation over the Nets’ firing of assistant coach and director of player development Adam Harrington.
But not everyone in the NBA world seems to think that Durant actually wants Nash or Marks fired from the organization.
That is certainly the opinion of Fox Sports’ Nick Wright, who said on ‘The Herd’ with Colin Cowherd that Durant’s ultimatum is all about achieving one “single goal”.
“I don’t think Kevin Durant actually wants those guys fired,” Wright said.
“I think he just wants to be traded. I think if he wanted Sean Marks and Steve Nash fired, he would have gone to Joe Tsai a month ago when he did the trade demand and quietly and privately said: ‘Listen, if you don’t fire these guys, I’m going to demand a trade’.
“I read this differently than most. I read this as Kevin Durant asking for something he knew he would not get in order to make it untenable for them to bring him back because he was starting to get concerned they were actually going to bring him back.
“This was him upping the ante to a level that is pretty unprecedented. It’s why I think Durant understood Joe Tsai is not going to do it and they also, I don’t believe, can ask Steve Nash to now coach Kevin Durant. I think it was a really smart move if his single goal is to be traded and I think that is his single goal.
Could Kevin Durant be heading down a similar path to Ben Simmons? (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
You see, it is not like Durant has much leverage in this situation, as NBA front office insider John Hollinger explained in a recent article for The Athletic.
Hollinger pointed towards two numbers in particular to prove that point — 34 and four — Durant’s age and how many years he has left on his contract.
“Throwing both his coach and GM under the bus — in many cases for moves that came with a wink and nod from Durant’s camp — certainly makes it less likely the Nets will find it tenable to reunite everyone in the fall,” Hollinger wrote.
“Of course, this gambit offers no guarantees. The trade offers in front of the Nets today aren’t any different from the ones they rejected yesterday, and it’s not clear how or if Durant’s latest demand will compel action.”
What it could do though is lead to a similar situation to the one Simmons found himself in Philadelphia last year, although there are a few key differences as Hollinger also pointed out.
“Seemingly the sharpest arrow left in Durant’s quiver is pure hardball: a holdout, one that would cost him a chunk of his $44 million 2022-23 salary for every day he sat out,” he wrote.
“It would, ironically, be a near carbon-copy of the situation a year ago in Philadelphia with Durant’s occasional teammate Ben Simmons.
“Here’s the thing: The Nets are working on a different timeline than the Sixers were.”
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Hollinger is right. Philadelphia had to move relatively fast to capitalize on Joel Embiid’s prime and as such was more inclined to reach a swift resolution in the Simmons drama.
The same cannot be said for the Nets though, as Hollinger argued.
“If anything, they would seem to have the opposite motivation,” he wrote.
“Yes, Brooklyn’s first choice would be to run it back with Durant, Simmons and Kyrie Irving (or a suitable replacement). But in the absence of Durant, wouldn’t the Nets’ second choice be to tank the season and try again in 2024? And wouldn’t a Durant holdout do anything more than accelerate the Nets toward that endgame?
“Brooklyn’s best-case scenario may be waiting until midseason, when this summer’s free agents are eligible to be dealt with. It seems less likely they’d let a year of Durant’s contract wither on the vine at his age and wait until next offseason… but it ca n’t totally be ruled out either given the tanking incentive.
Durant has told Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai that he must choose between keeping Durant or head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks, The Athletic reported on August 8, 2022. (Photo by ELSA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)Source: AFP
What was consistent among a host of voices in the NBA media landscape was a sense of uncertainty, not knowing what exactly was coming next, again similar to the Simmons saga.
“The whole situation is a mess, but the kind of mess Brooklyn might happily sweep under a rug and ignore, if only it could,” The Ringers Rob Mahoney wrote.
“It’s impossible to replace Kevin Durant. Hell, it’s hard enough just to set a fair return for Durant in a trade, much less one suitors can realistically meet. Every ask sounds ridiculous because Durant is a genuinely ridiculous player.
“That might be the only reason he’s still a Net some six weeks after requesting a trade—and maybe the real reason KD is stirring the pot with this ultimatum in the first place. Does he really want Marks and Nash gone? Or is he just looking to send a shock through the Nets’ system?”
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The Athletic’s Alex Schiffer, meanwhile, pointed towards Durant’s strong endorsement of Marks after the Brooklyn’s four-game sweep at the hands of Boston as proof of just how confusing it all is.
“If Durant wanted Nash out but didn’t feel like putting him on blast to the media 10 minutes after the season ended, he could have discussed Nash’s future with an ‘I don’t know’ or ‘Now’s not the time for that’ . But he didn’t,” Schiffer wrote.
Schiffer agreed one “plausible explanation” is that this is Durant trying to force Brooklyn’s hand, to make the situation so untenable that the Nets back down.
Durant wants out of Brooklyn. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
The Heat have been heavily linked to Durant since he first requested the trade but are unlikely to have the assets to make it work, at least in a traditional two-team deal.
The Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang though Durant’s ultimatum was an important point in the drama, even if it still left “plenty of questions unanswered”.
“But in the wake of The Athletic’s report that Durant doesn’t want to work with Nash or Marks, the question is: Will this force the Nets to trade Durant prior to the start of training camp in late September to avoid any awkward tension and drama between the two parties? he wrote.
“That sort of deadline could take away some of the Nets’ leverage as the window to trade Durant before training camp shrinks as each day passes.
“The Nets could also decide to take Durant into training camp if a good enough offer doesn’t present itself, which would force Durant to decide whether to skip practices as he waits to be dealt or play through it.”
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NBA insider Brian Windhorst though was not so sure it would pay off, should Durant’s ultimatum have been a ploy to try speed up a trade out of Brooklyn.
“Doing it now is a manoeuvre, a manoeuvre that I don’t think worked because as I talk to teams out there, they don’t think this increased his trade demand. They think this hurt his trade value,” Windhorst said on ‘NBA Today’.
Windhorst brought up Tsai’s tweet earlier in the week as proof of it, in which the Nets owner claimed: “Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.”
“I want to point to the second half of the Joe Tsai tweet,” Windhorst said.
“I think it’s obviously important to look at the first sentence which is that he’s not going to fire Sean Marks and Steve Nash. But the second sentence is really the sentence that the league paid attention to it. And it seems benign when he says ‘We make decisions for the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.’
“But I’m going to decode that for you. What he’s basically saying is despite what Kevin Durant is trying to do here, we’re not going to change what our expectations are for a trade and if you are not traded, we expect you to be reporting to camp to continue the four years you have left on your contract.”
At this stage though, we are no closer to either party getting what they want, with Schiffer putting it best in his summation of the drama.
“During’s ultimatum,” he wrote, “opened a chest’s worth of questions while the clock to training camp continues to tick more loudly”.
Heartwarming scenes at a US Little League playoff have shown the world there is actually hope for the future.
In the first inning of the Southwest Region Playoff final between Pearland, Texas and Tulsa, Oklahoma and a spot in the Little League World Series on the line, the video of a batter hugging a pitcher has gone viral.
And remember, these kids are between 10 to 12-years-old.
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A pitch got away from Texas pitcher Kaiden Shelton, slamming into the side of Oklahoma batter Isaiah Jarvis’ head, knocking his helmet off and sending a scare around the stadium.
“That’s a tough kid right there,” the commentator said.
Jarvis needed a second after the painful blow but took his place on first base.
But after looking up and seeing Sheldon was getting teary eyed on the mound, Jarvis went to console him, hugging his opponent in lovely scenes.
“This is really cool because as a pitcher, (Shelton) looks shaken up right now because of what he did and look at Jarvis. This is such great sportsmanship,” a commentator for ESPN said. “He wants him to know that it’s OK, that he’ll be fine. Amazing.”
The moment drew a standing ovation and even tears from some in the crowd.
Pearland went on to defeat Tusla 9-4 and will go into the Little League World Series but the moment has had a life of its own, getting millions of views online.
Speaking to CNN, Jarvis said it was “crazy” the video had been taken off.
Jarvis said he did it because he wanted to spread the lesson that “you should care for other people.”
“As soon as I’ve seen him get emotional because he hit me, I wanted to go over there and spread God’s love and make sure he’s okay and make sure he knows that I’m okay and that I’ll be okay,” Jarvis said.
Shelton said he didn’t know Jarvis was coming to hug him and said: “It felt like he cared.
“I also cared about him and it just shows there’s a lot of sportsmanship in baseball.”
Jarvis’ head coach Sean Kouplen said he believed it was just what the world needed.
“I believe what we are seeing is that our world is tired of divisiveness,” he said. “We all saw is friendship and love and caring trump competition. I believe that just struck a chord with everybody.”
But the world was blown away by the moment when at the professional level, it likely would have ended in heated scenes and maybe even the dugouts emptying onto the field.
While the world can quite often be termed a dumpster fire, scenes like this show the kids will actually be alright.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all in the sporting landscape, another moment comes along.
On Wednesday that latest moment arrived thanks to American baseball star for the Pittsburgh Pirates Rodolfo Castro.
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The Pirates infielder was left-faced during the middle of his team’s contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks as he slid into third base during the fourth inning.
Castro raced toward third base as a throw from the outfield came in, as he hit the ground and slid towards the base – the impact of his move launched his phone out of his back pocket and into the dirt.
Third-base umpire Adam Hamari immediately spotted the mobile phone that was resting against the base.
Castro, 23, immediately picked it up and handed it to Pirates third-base coach Mike Rebelo who looked bemused by what was being given to him.
The phone starts to creep out. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)Source: Getty ImagesThere it is resting against the base. Norm Hall/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
Professional sports tend to have strict codes surrounding electronic devices and mobile phones. Major League Baseball doesn’t allow players or coaches to have their mobile phones on them while they’re in the dugout.
An embarrassed Castro spoke about the incident to the media after the game which the Pirates lost 6-4.
“I don’t think there’s any professional ballplayer that would ever go out there with any intentions of taking a cellphone,” Castro told media members through an interpreter. “It’s horrible it happened to me. Obviously, it was very unintentional.”
Castro explained his sliding glove is generally placed in his back pocket and he believed this was all he had on him.
“My first day back, if I was to be the center of attention, I would want it to be helping the team win, but never in this way,” Castro said. “This is definitely something that was an accident, a mistake, something I’m going to learn from. But definitely something I didn’t mean to happen.”
The never before seen moment sent social media into a spin with Castro trending on Twitter as the footage circulated.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette journalist Mike Persak wrote: “I straight up can’t believe this happened what the hell.”
Bay Area radio producer Kyle Madson wrote: “Given this sport’s problems with cheating via electronics over the last decade or so this seems like the kind of thing that shouldn’t be allowed.”
Castro’s phone may be lighting up on Wednesday if the MLB opts to investigate and hand down a penalty.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all in the sporting landscape, another moment comes along.
On Wednesday that latest moment arrived thanks to American baseball star for the Pittsburgh Pirates Rodolfo Castro.
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The Pirates infielder was left-faced during the middle of his team’s contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks as he slid into third base during the fourth inning.
Castro raced toward third base as a throw from the outfield came in, as he hit the ground and slid towards the base – the impact of his move launched his phone out of his back pocket and into the dirt.
Third-base umpire Adam Hamari immediately spotted the mobile phone that was resting against the base.
Castro, 23, immediately picked it up and handed it to Pirates third-base coach Mike Rebelo who looked bemused by what was being given to him.
Professional sports tend to have strict codes surrounding electronic devices and mobile phones. Major League Baseball doesn’t allow players or coaches to have their mobile phones on them while they’re in the dugout.
An embarrassed Castro spoke about the incident to the media after the game which the Pirates lost 6-4.
“I don’t think there’s any professional ballplayer that would ever go out there with any intentions of taking a cellphone,” Castro told media members through an interpreter. “It’s horrible it happened to me. Obviously, it was very unintentional.”
Castro explained his sliding glove is generally placed in his back pocket and he believed this was all he had on him.
“My first day back, if I was to be the center of attention, I would want it to be helping the team win, but never in this way,” Castro said. “This is definitely something that was an accident, a mistake, something I’m going to learn from. But definitely something I didn’t mean to happen.”
The never before seen moment sent social media into a spin with Castro trending on Twitter as the footage circulated.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette journalist Mike Persak wrote: “I straight up can’t believe this happened what the hell.”
Bay Area radio producer Kyle Madson wrote: “Given this sport’s problems with cheating via electronics over the last decade or so this seems like the kind of thing that shouldn’t be allowed.”
Castro’s phone may be lighting up on Wednesday if the MLB opts to investigate and hand down a penalty.
Ben Simmons’ rocky NBA career has taken another turn after the Brooklyn Nets guard reportedly left a players group chat before a decisive playoff game last season.
Simmons was drafted first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2016 NBA Draft but found himself locked in a standoff with the franchise after demanding a trade.
The Australian was eventually dealt to the Nets as part of a package for All-Star guard James Harden, and was expected to don his new colors for the first time in the playoffs.
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The Athletic reported in April that Simmons was set to debut for Brooklyn in Game Four, during the first round of the playoffs.
Brooklyn were already down 3-0 to the eventual Eastern Conference champions Boston Celtics when he pulled out with back soreness.
But renowned NBA analyst Ric Bucher has made a stunning revelation about Simmons, saying that he left a players group chat without saying a word before Game Four.
“They’re having a team chat before Game four, thinking he’s going to play against the Celtics, and from what I’m told, Ben just left the chat,” Bucher told Colin Cowherd on The Herd.
“They asked him, ‘Are you going to play?’ Ben left the chat. Like he didn’t even answer the question. He just left the chat.”
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The 26-year-old required surgery in March on his lower back after withdrawing from that crucial playoff clash with the Celtics.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Simmons needed back surgery after experiencing “pain soreness” the day before the Nets were eventually eliminated.
“Brooklyn Nets swingman Ben Simmons will require three to four months of rehabilitation after undergoing back surgery, but is expected to be fully recovered to return to the court well ahead of pre-season training camp in September, sources told ESPN on Wednesday,” Wojnarowski wrote.
“The decision to undergo the surgery was reached after ‘consultation with multiple back specialists,’ the team said Wednesday.”
Simmons said that mental health was the reason behind his ugly exit from Philadelphia, as he opened up on his “dark times.”
However, sports radio host Ben Maller believed that it was just an excuse for the Melbourne-born talent to leave the Sixers.
“Ben Simmons in Philadelphia was a charlatan, a fake, a phony and a fraud,” Maller said on Fox Sports Radio in February
“This guy has been hiding behind the mental health card playing it from the bottom of the deck, knowing that it makes you untouchable in a polite society.
“The establishment media are afraid of even slightly criticizing someone who makes this claim, like Ben Simmons.”
Don’t worry about Daniel Ricciardo, he’s going to be fine.
The Aussie F1 veteran became the story of the F1 mid-year break when it was reported he was being moved on for his 21-year-old countryman Oscar Piastri.
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The news erupted last week after Fernando Alonso blindsided the F1 world when he jumped into Sebastian Vettel’s vacated seat at Aston Martin for 2023.
Alpine then announced Piastri would be the man to replace Alonso, only for the Melburnian to reject the seat, a bold move for a man who’s never driven an F1 car in anger.
But the news leaked over the weekend that it was Ricciardo’s seat Piastri was set to take, while McLaren were set to cut the eight-time race winner loose for the prodigious youngster — a move which would reportedly cost McLaren $21m in a payout for Ricciardo .
It leaves Ricciardo’s career at a crossroads after two largely miserable seasons in papaya, outside of the 2021 win at Monza.
Ricciardo had been regularly beaten by teammate Lando Norris and struggled to get his head around the car.
The 32-year-old left Renault for McLaren, but could return to the Enstone unit now branded Alpine, who are open to the move.
Alpine still believes it has an iron-clad deal with Piastri and are still planning for the young Aussie to take the seat, despite reports the FIA’s Contract Recognition Board had cleared Piastri’s move.
Although Alfa Romeo rookie and former Renault Academy driver Guanyu Zhou said he was glad he wasn’t “stuck” at Alpine, team boss Otmar Szafnauer believes his team is well placed to attack the top teams.
Speaking regarding Alonso’s decision, Szafnauer, the former Aston Martin boss, said: “I know both teams well,” he said. “I think I know (them), because I spent 12 years at the other team, better than I know all the individuals here just yet.
“And I know since I’ve left in December, they’ve hired some more people, some of which I was a part of recruiting, including Dan Fallows, and Eric Blandin from Mercedes. So I know what they’re trying to do.
“And I know that the people that are there, and I know this team here, and both teams have great potential.
“But as we sit here today, this team is performing at a much higher level. It’s hard to predict the future, but in the near future, for sure this team will continue to perform at that level, if not better.”
Alpine is currently fourth in the constructors’ standings on 99 points, behind only Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes, and four points in front of McLaren. Aston Martin is ninth on 20 points.
Szafnauer also said Alpine weren’t done coming fourth.
“We have an internal program called Mountain Climber, and that’s to hire an additional 75 people in strategic areas that will help improve the capabilities of this team,” he said.
“And along with the 75 people, there’s also tools that we are improving now, some simulation tools, a new simulator, expanded capacity in manufacturing, some upgrades to our wind tunnel, all with the focus on being able to win in 100 races.
“So those things are still happening here. And they’re happening fast. We’re already at a level of 850 people here.
“So I am confident that we can outdo the team that Fernando is going to, in the time period that he will be there.”
Ricciardo scored 119 points in Renault in 2020, the best by a driver since the manufacturer’s return to the sport in 2016.
There’s no doubt he would be a strong option for Alpine.
However, in an interview with The confidentialSzafnauer said he would narrow the shortlist to four drivers, revealing he had fielded “like 14 calls from drivers who are interested”.
ESPN’s Nate Saunders also said Ricciardo would “still command the attention of teams up and down the grid” adding he is “one of the most marketable drivers on the grid at the moment and one who is especially popular in America”.
He added four teams had contacted him in the past fortnight prior to the news McLaren were moving to ax the Western Australian.
The Expresseven suggested a pay out from McLaren to Ricciardo and a forced season on the sideline could open up Mercedes.
Ricciardo has long coveted a seat with Ferrari or Mercedes and said the Silver Arrows had “always had an eye” on Ricciardo.
The 37-year-old seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton has long been linked with retirement.
In 2019 when Ricciardo joined Renault, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said he had caught their eye but didn’t end up pulling the trigger.
“We always had an eye on Daniel… we really like him in here,” Wolff said at the time. “It’s just the mentality in Mercedes – I sometimes feel if you’re happy in your relationship it is not always easy (to change).
“It is like being married, you need to be 100 per cent behind it. It was not a lack of interest, it was just that we were in a happy relationship and there was no need to flirt with another woman at that stage.”
Is it likely? Not at this stage, but stranger things have happened.
The prospect of the 2023 Formula 1 grid not featuring Daniel Ricciardo is difficult to fathom.
Fortunately it’s not just a hard sell of the average F1 fan; several teams are also sure the eight-time race winner has more to give to motorsport’s premier series.
In the wake of persistent rumors that Mark Webber was lining up Oscar Piastri to snatch Ricciardo’s seat from underneath him in 2023, rival teams have been probing the availability of the affable 33-year-old for his next chapter.
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As many as four rival constructors have sounded out Ricciardo, per ESPN, in the weeks leading up to McLaren reportedly issuing him his intention to break his contract.
Deducing which teams ought to be a simple case of arithmetic.
Before Fernando Alonso’s bombshell move there were six teams with possible vacancies: Alpine, Alfa Romeo, Haas, AlphaTauri, Aston Martin and Williams.
Alpine assumed it wouldn’t be going to market given it thought it had Piastri on the books as a fallback for Alonso, reducing the list to five.
AlphaTauri is also moving closer to re-signing Yuki Tsunoda, who Franz Tost wants to give a third season to establish himself. Anyway, signing 33-year-old Ricciardo also doesn’t click with what’s supposed to be Red Bull’s development team. Four teams remaining.
Aston Martin has also removed itself from the list, but with Alpine seemingly sure to need new blood, the group possible suitors is stable at four, including Haas, Alfa Romeo and Williams.
So which is most likely to be seriously pitching for Ricciardo’s services, and which has the best chance of attracting his attention.
Ricciardo set to be replaced by Piastri | 00:32
ALPINE: THE CLEAR FRONTRUNNER
Alpine is unlikely to have been among the teams to have reached out to Ricciardo before the Hungarian Grand Prix given it was certain to the point of complacency that Alonso would re-sign, and it assumed in the unlikely event the Spaniard left, Oscar Piastri would be aligned to replace him.
But you can guarantee that the French team has reached out in the week since the driver market kicked into gear, and it’s the obvious frontrunner for Ricciardo’s services.
why it makes sense
Alpine is the highest placed team in the constructors standings with an availability — in fact it’s a place ahead of McLaren, occupying fourth with a four-point margin, so it would represent a step forwards on the grid, even if that step would be almost imperceptibly small.
The team is also on a hiring spree to match the workforce size of the frontrunners, and having undertaken some capital works to upgrade its factory, it’s well placed to maximize its budget cap allocation in the coming seasons.
Alpine also has a weak bargaining hand given it’s now 35 races deep into a 100-race plan to be a regular podium-getter. Esteban Ocon is credible enough but really the team needs a high-caliber spearhead, and there’s no-one on the market who comes close to Ricciardo’s potential or brand value.
And then there’s a certain unquantifiable appeal for both sides—one that neither would admit to, although stranger things have happened—that they’d be united by a common adversary. Both would surely be keen to defeat McLaren in a straight fight, and they’re each other’s best chance of doing so.
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Why it doesn’t
The only thing that would prevent Ricciardo and Alpine from renewing the relationship that ended in 2020 is pride. Ricciardo would be returning to a team he’d previously ditched, and Alpine would be taking back a driver who decided to walk out after only a year of racing.
But it’s debatable that this would be a strong disincentive to join.
For one, Alpine has been through a management clean-out since Ricciardo left, meaning there could be only so much bad blood to influence decision-making.
Team principal Otmar Szafnauer was even receptive to Ricciardo as a possible re-hire as early as last week, when he was still trying to project an air of confidence about keeping Piastri.
“I mean, if you look at Fernando, for example, he comes and goes, and I think that happens to other drivers too,” he said, per autosport. “I don’t think that’s an issue [with Ricciardo] at all.”
As for Ricciardo, he’s proved during his McLaren tenure that he isn’t afraid about claiming responsibility for his actions. He’s been upfront about his underperformance, and returning to Alpine, where he had one of the best seasons of his career in 2020, would just be an extension of that.
Alpine may not have been among the early suitors of Ricciardo’s services, but it’s certainly at the head of the pack.
Piastri backflip as he denies Alpine F1 | 01:07
HAAS: TRYING ITS LUCK
Haas is the next team in the constructors standings without an obvious solution to its driver line-up if it parts ways with Mick Schumacher, whether on its own motion or because the German switches teams given the pathway to Ferrari is closed for the foreseeable future.
why it makes sense
Daniel Ricciardo is box office in the United States partly thanks to Drive to Survivepartly thanks to his love for the US and partly thanks to his personal team’s efforts to get his personality out there.
For a Haas team that’s on the up but in need of some brand cut-through, Ricciardo would be a great get — and maybe even enough to convince Gene Haas to increase his commitment to funding the team, at least for purposes of snagging a star. driver.
Ricciardo would also enjoy the relaxed and apolitical atmosphere at the midfield team, perhaps enough to sway a decision.
Why it doesn’t
While the morass of the midfield is a bit of a minefield in terms of their prospects in the next few years — Alonso clearly doesn’t think ninth-placed Aston Martin has dimmer prospects than fourth-placed Alpine — Haas has been particularly inconsistent this season . It would be a difficult sell to Ricciardo to take a punt on things moving forwards rather than backwards.
Haas might also question whether it’s ready for a driver of Ricciardo’s ambition at this stage of its rebuild.
There’s also a lack of clarity around whether Ferrari has finally said over Haas’s second seat as part of its technical agreement with the team, which would presumably rule Ricciardo out of the running.
Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFPSource: AFP
WILLIAMS: WITHOUT AN OBVIOUS SUCCESSOR
Williams was set to be a major player in the driver market when it was tied to Alpine’s decision-making around Oscar Piastri and Fernando Alonso, but that power was stripped from Grove when both drivers sensationally abandoned the French team.
It’s also left Williams without an obvious candidate for its second seat, currently occupied by Nicholas Latifi, who’s likely to be shown the door at the end of the year.
why it makes sense
Williams has fielded mostly rookies for the last five seasons, with the only exceptions being Robert Kubica in 2019, who was making his comeback an eight-year injury hiatus, and Alex Albon, who had two disrupted years in the Red Bull system before sitting out last year.
It means the team is without a proven, established bar with which to measure its car’s ultimate performance. Ricciardo would give the team a chance to know just how much more might be in the car or whether what we’re seeing today is the best the team’s got.
If Ricciardo were desperate to continue his Formula 1 career but unable to secure a contract at a better placed team, Williams would surely be happy to accept him.
Why it doesn’t
Much like Haas, Williams may not feel ready for a heavy hitter of Ricciardo’s stature. It’s also seriously debatable whether Daniel, with a point to prove about his last 18 months and eager to restore his reputation, would see value in a contract that would struggle to guarantee him more than lower midfield levels of performance.
Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
ALFA ROMEO: NOT IN NEED OF A LEADER
Alfa Romeo has been one of the sport’s great improvers this year and is on track for the best points haul of its independent history. It also has Zhou Guanyu out of contract this season, and though the Chinese rookie has acquired himself well, the team is yet to re-sign him.
why it makes sense
The Sauber-run Alfa Romeo team’s biggest card is that it’s reportedly in negotiations to be bought by Audi. Sauber would then become the German marque’s works constructor, complete with a power unit program.
If the best route to a championship is to race for a fully fledged manufacturer, getting in on the ground floor before Audi potentially buys in — and presumably spends big to accelerate progress where it can — might be the best shortcut to the front.
Why it doesn’t
Valtteri Bottas’s strong performances and long-term contract mean Alfa Romeo doesn’t need a team leader, no matter your opinion of the abilities of the Finn relative to the Australian.
Further, the team has an eye to promoting its development driver, Théo Pourchaire, from Formula 2. Pourchaire is only 21 points off the title lead, and if he wins the series this year, he won’t be able to enter again — and even if he missed out, another strong campaign would likely be enough to get him into F1 by 2024.
Wedging Ricciardo into Zhou Guanyu’s seat makes no sense when it’s already earmarked for one of Sauber’s own drivers.
Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
WHAT ABOUT THE LONG GAME?
There’s one other criterion that might be on Ricciardo’s mind aside from getting himself into the most competitive seat available next season: ensuring he’s available to take part in driver market movements among the frontrunners in the coming seasons.
Out of contract next year are both Lewis Hamilton, who is inching closer to retirement, and George Russell at Mercedes, and team boss Toto Wolff has previously described himself as an admirer of the Australian. A Mercedes-powered team might therefore enjoy a small boost in bargaining power.
The 2024 season is Sergio Perez’s last under his current contract, while Charles Leclerc will also be up for renewal. Fernando Alonso is understood to have signed a two-plus-one deal at Aston Martin that could also see his seat made available.
But before leaping at any such hypotheticals — if indeed they’re on his mind at all — Ricciardo will need to nail down a contract to keep him in F1 next season.
