Riccardo: You have to admit failure

Before the start of the weekend at Spa, McLaren announced that they would be saying goodbye to Daniel Ricciardo after the end of the season. On Thursday, the Australian commented on the situation…

Daniel Ricciardo: “If you have to take a year off and then return to Formula 1, I will. These are the only races I’m interested in, so if the stars don’t align, I’m ready. I still love this sport and would like to continue to play in a good team. If such an offer comes, I gladly accept it.

Unfortunately McLaren and I did not achieve what we expected. We had hoped for very different results. It just didn’t work. We put in a lot of effort, trying to find a solution, an approach to the car. But too many weekends went wrong.

Feelings are not the most positive right now, but I will not lower my head and in the remaining races I will do my best. You should be able to admit that you have failed when you have done everything possible but nothing has come of it. This is just such a case.

The decision to break up was not made at the last minute. We spent months discussing what was going on. There was nothing like, “Finish in the top five this weekend, or you’re done.” We talked about what we can do as a team to make it work.

We discussed a lot, but I understood that my results did not match the level we all expected. We spent several months discussing how to resolve the situation.

Oscar Piastri? To be honest, I don’t know what the future holds for him. It’s just business. His career is busy with Mark Webber, he does everything possible for Oscar. I don’t take it too personally. I will support another Australian in Formula 1, whichever team he ends up with.

Saying goodbye to McLaren is an important moment in my career. But I feel like I can do a lot more. Overcoming difficulties makes you stronger. We need to get the situation under control. Nobody has a perfect career, I’ve learned to deal with it. I will do my best to be successful in the future.”