Daniel Ricciardo’s time at McLaren is ‘over’, claims Jacques Villeneuve

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Daniel Ricciardo’s time at McLaren F1 is “over”, according to 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who believes that the team are preparing to move on from the Australian.

Ricciardo has endured a tough and uncompetitive start to the 2022 campaign, sitting outside of the top ten in the Drivers’ Championship standings.

The 32-year-old has scored only eleven points, 37 fewer than teammate Lando Norris, and again finished outside of the points at the Monaco Grand Prix for the fourth consecutive race.

While Ricciardo’s contract runs until the end of the 2023 season, Zak Brown, team principal at McLaren, hinted last week that it may contain a get-out clause that would allow the team to move on from the driver.

And Villeneuve believes that Brown’s reference to potential exit mechanisms may be bad news for Ricciardo.

“Daniel Ricciardo’s time at McLaren is over,” Villeneuve wrote on FORMULE1.NL.

“CEO Zak Brown is now saying that there are clauses in his contract, and that means that a decision has almost been made. It’s a way to put the pressure on the driver and prepare the media.”

Ricciardo secured victory at the Italian Grand Prix last September, his first race victory for three seasons and eighth overall in his F1 career.

He has, however, increasingly struggled to match more junior colleague Norris, who closed the 2021 season two places and 45 points clear on the world title ladder.

Villeneuve feels that the team would be better served seeking a new driver to continue pushing McLaren on, rather than persist with Ricciardo, who admitted he was under-performing ahead of the race in Monte Carlo.

“Ultimately, [Ricciardo] has been a highly-paid driver who has cost the team a lot of money,” Villeneuve said of the Australian, who joined McLaren last year.

“He doesn’t bring in any points and he doesn’t have the speed the team needs to develop the car. So he’s just costing them money.

“It would be cheaper for them to continue paying Ricciardo’s salary, let him sit on the couch at home, and put another driver in the car. It’s a harsh reality, but that’s Formula 1.”