McLaren chief opens up on Ricciardo sacking decision

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has openly admitted that parting ways with Daniel Ricciardo was a difficult decision, despite reports of criticism.

Ricciardo departed from McLaren after the 2022 Formula 1 season when he was informed that his contract would be terminated early to make room for fellow Australian driver Oscar Piastri.

As a result, Ricciardo found himself without a seat for the 2023 season and decided to re-join Red Bull as a reserve driver. However, in July 2023, he had the opportunity to return to the grid by replacing Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri.

Recently, Ricciardo expressed his disappointment about being let go by McLaren and the criticism that came with it. However, Brown, the CEO of McLaren, emphasized that the decision was not an easy one.

“Breaking up with Daniel was a tough situation. We have a great relationship with him and he’s a fantastic person,” said Brown during an interview with the Track Limits Podcast. “Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as planned, but it was never our intention to end things this way. It was a challenging situation to navigate.

“Especially when such matters become public, everyone feels entitled to share their opinions, even though they may not have all the facts. Being in the spotlight comes with its challenges, but it’s important to remember that not everyone knows the full story. It was a difficult experience.”

McLaren future

Brown also touched upon the current McLaren lineup, emphasizing the transition from pairing Lando Norris with Ricciardo to the new partnership with Piastri.

“I believe Piastri doesn’t necessarily bring something different, but Lando hasn’t faced consistent challenges from his teammate in the past couple of years,” Brown stated.

“By the way, it’s fantastic to see Daniel performing so well at AlphaTauri because he’s an incredible person and he secured my first race victory.”

Additionally, Brown mentioned that Piastri’s sprint race triumph at the Qatar Grand Prix weekend has put Norris on edge, especially considering Norris has yet to win a race in F1.

“But I think Oscar is keeping Lando on his toes,” Brown remarked. “The advantage is that they prefer a very similar race car, so we receive consistent feedback from both drivers.”

“Last thing you want to do is have two drivers that one says they have understeer, the other says they have oversteer and then kind of what do you do?

“So, I think we’re benefiting from having two very fast drivers that are very technical and we do have an experienced and a rookie, it’s just that our experienced guy happens to be pretty young.”