Daniel Ricciardo: ‘No rush’ over McLaren driver’s future as Zak Brown provides update on plans

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Daniel Ricciardo’s future beyond next year is undecided, with McLaren CEO Zak Brown adamant there is “no rush” to secure the Australian to a long-term deal.

Ricciardo, who is tied down until the end of the 2023, has managed to improve on what was a disappointing debut season after switching from Renault in 2021.

The 32-year-old is currently 11th in the drivers’ championship, with 11 points, including a best finish of sixth in Melbourne.

But after four races, Ricciardo is still well behind teammate Lando Norris, who is sixth on 35 points, having extended his contract to the end of 2025.

But Brown admits McLaren will assess their options before committing to a similar deal for Ricciardo.

“Probably later this year,” Brown told the F1 Nation podcast when asked when negotiations over Ricciardo’s future will begin. “We have another year together, we do like to think long out, hence doing some testing with Pato.

“We’re going to do some testing with Colton, we’ve got Ugo in Formula 4, who put it on pole at his first race. So I don’t think you can ever plan too early, but there’s no rush.

“His race days have been very strong, much better in qualifying. Listening to him earlier this week with the team, I think he still doesn’t feel he’s 10 out of 10 on top of the car, but he has got a great relationship with Lando, he knows the team well.

“It was great he was able to go back to Australia for the first time in a couple of years and recharge the batteries and see the family, so we’re really happy to see Daniel on top of his game.”