“We’ve had to write a big cheque” - Zak Brown on Daniel Ricciardo’s exit

Weeks of speculation has finally been put to an end with McLaren confirming that Ricciardo will not drive for the team in 2023, opening the door for Alpine junior Oscar Piastri.

Ricciardo was contracted until the end of next year but McLaren have been forced to pay him off, a reported £15 million fee according to AP.

The Australian has struggled since joining the Woking-outfit at the start of 2021, despite ending the team’s win drought at Monza last year.

Speaking on The High Performance Podcast, Brown reflected on Ricciardo’s time with the team and admitted he would include performance clauses in future driver’s contracts to give the team more protection.

"My one learning there would be contractual, I don't think we could have done something differently to make him more competitive,” Brown said. 

“We tried all that. I think we've had to end the relationship early, we've had to write a big cheque. Which is fine, because that's the deal that we cut. I think what I'll do different next time is maybe have some more performance protections for us. And not just assume that a great drivers can always be great."

Prior to joining McLaren, Ricciardo enjoyed one of his strongest seasons in F1, finishing on the podium twice for Renault.

Brown had no answer or explanation as to why Ricciardo has struggled so much.

“We’re not sure, he’s not sure,” Brown said when asked about where it went wrong for Ricciardo. “We’ve tried changing cars and offering to change people. It’s been two seasons, two different cars. We thought year one, maybe it just didn’t gel with the car. Year two, it’s a totally different car.

“But we got to the point where our only strategy was hope, and hope’s not a great strategy. So it’s a great mystery. 

“We saw in Monza it’s in there. The guy did not win eight grands prix by accident, we just weren’t able to unlock it together. And Lando’s driving great and getting the car to perform. 

“So I don’t think there’s anything we would have done differently, or could have seen, or should have known.”

The 2023 F1 driver market is open with Ricciardo linked with Alpine, Williams and Haas.