Ricciardo rejected IndyCar move to fight for F1 future

Daniel Ricciardo rejected McLaren’s offer of a switch to their IndyCar team in an attempt to remain in F1, Zak Brown confirmed.

James Dielhenn

28 Aug 2022

Ricciardo and McLaren confirmed that their partnership with split at the end of 2022, a year earlier than his contract was due to expire, after a pay-off was agreed.

Ricciardo is now seeking a new opportunity to remain in the 2023 driver line-up although has admitted that a sabbatical is possible.

He had long been linked with IndyCar - McLaren CEO Brown has now confirmed that he offered Ricciardo this opportunity, but it was rejected.

“Yes, we spoke about that,” Brown said.

“He’s an exceptional racing driver and any team that he drives for, it’s a privilege to have Daniel drive for you and we do have a variety of racing activities.

“That being said, he’s very focussed on Formula 1. Of course, the door will always be open here at McLaren, but I believe he has a real desire to continue in Formula 1.

“We’ll leave it at that and let him comment when he speaks to his future activities.”

Rumours have linked Ricciardo with Alpine and Haas if he is to stay in F1 for the 2023 season.