F1: A McLaren-Ricciardo Divorce is Needed for Both Sides
The McLaren-Ricciardo Divorce At A Glance:
* The Canadian Grand Prix brought results many Formula One fans have grown accustomed to so far this season.
* Ricciardo's teammate, Lando Norris, is currently in seventh-place in the driver's championship with 50 points.
* Ricciardo finished in eighth place in last year's driver's championship with 115 points.
The Canadian Grand Prix brought results many Formula One fans have grown accustomed to so far this season.
Max Verstappen picked up another race win: his fifth in six races. A Ferrari driver finished on the podium. This race it was Carlos Sainz. Mick Schumacher failed to score any points and has not scored a single point in 31 career races. Finally, Daniel Ricciardo failed to score a point, finishing in 11th.
Ricciardo is now 13th in the championship standings with 15 points. He has finished inside the top 10 just once in the last five races.
If Ricciardo’s championship position were to hold, this would be the lowest he has finished in the final rankings since he was 14th in the 2013 championship with Torro Rosso.
The difference then was Ricciardo was a 24-year-old rising star in Formula One on a team that finished eighth in the constructors' championship. Ricciardo finished ahead of his teammate at the time, Jean-Éric Vergne.
Fast forward to 2022, Ricciardo is currently driving for McLaren, a team currently fourth in the constructors’ championship.
Ricciardo’s teammate, Lando Norris, is currently seventh in the drivers' championship with 50 points.
Ricciardo was supposed to be able to push Norris and mentor him when he signed with McLaren in 2021. Instead, Ricciardo has gotten his butt kicked by Norris and has become a detriment to the team’s hopes for success.
In 2021, Norris finished in sixth in the drivers’ championship with 150 points. Ricciardo finished in eighth place with 115 points.
A chunk of both Norris and Ricciardo’s points last year came in Italy at Monza. Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton collided and took each other out, leaving first and second place to Ricciardo and Norris. This was Ricciardo’s only podium of the season, compared to four podiums by Norris.
Signs of trouble were apparent at the end of the 2021 season for Ricciardo. He only scored points in one of the last five races of the season.
So far through 31 races as teammates, Norris has outscored Ricciardo by 80 points. This is unacceptable for McLaren if they want to push their team back to the top of the constructors' standings.
Formula One fans who started watching the series due to the TV series "Drive to Survive" may not realize McLaren used to be a dominant constructor in the open-wheel series.
Since entering F1 in 1966, McLaren has won 183 races, second only to Ferrari in series history. McLaren also has won eight constructors’ titles and 12 drivers’ titles, both which are ranked top three in F1 annals.
Legendary drivers such as Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Aryton Senna and Lewis Hamilton have all won titles for McLaren.
The problem is McLaren is in a historic dry spell. It has not won a constructor's title since 1998, the longest time between constructors’ titles in team history.
Even worse, McLaren has not finished in the top two of the constructors’ championship since 2011, which is also the longest time out of the top two in McLaren’s history.
Lewis Hamilton was the last McLaren driver to win the drivers’ championship in 2008. This is also the longest time between driver championship wins in McLaren history.
So obviously the 32-year-old Ricciardo is past his prime and needs to go. But who should McLaren bring in to replace him?
One option is Colton Herta. The 22-year-old American is one of IndyCar’s brightest young stars, winning seven races since he entered the series in 2019.
This fit has been rumored for a while. Herta races for McLaren in IndyCar and is a test driver for McLaren’s Formula One team.
He is an American driver who would help the sport grow even more if he were to replace Ricciardo. The last American in Formula One was Alexander Rossi in 2015.
This move could also work as a swap for McLaren. Herta could move to F1 and Ricciardo could take his spot in IndyCar. Ricciardo has professed his love for America before and has real estate in the U.S. He could become a fan favorite in IndyCar and compete for wins.
Another option for McLaren is Oscar Piastri. The 21-year-old Australian is currently Alpine’s reserve driver and a test driver for McLaren as well.
Piastri already has quite the resume with Formula Three and Formula Two Championships under his belt. There is tons of competition for Piastri. Williams has been rumored to have Piastri replace Nicholas Latifi and he's very high on Alpine's list too.
Regardless of who replaces Ricciardo, they need to be able to push or surpass Norris’ efforts if McLaren wants to contend at the front again.
If not, McLaren might join the likes of Williams as teams with legendary pasts and uncertain futures.