McLaren boss Zak Brown has spoken in-depth about axing Daniel Ricciardo, saying he “hated” an experience he describes as the “toughest thing” he’s faced in motorsport.
In an exclusive interview with Kayo Sports at the Bathurst 1000, Brown opened up on McLaren’s failed partnership with Ricciardo, whose F1 future is now in limbo after he was paid out of the third and final year of his contract.
Ricciardo will be replaced at McLaren in 2023 by fellow Australian Oscar Piastri, who Brown snapped up after conceding defeat in the battle to get the former up to speed.
Brown said that, ultimately, McLaren felt like it had “tried everything” to help Ricciardo, who remained significantly slower than teammate Lando Norris after one-and-a-half seasons.
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“Ultimately we weren’t getting the results that we needed and we’re a year-and-a-half into this,” Brown told Jess Yates. “We’ve all tried extremely hard, we love Daniel, he’s great to work with and continues to be great to work with.
“But we’re in the results business and the results weren’t coming and we felt we tried everything.
“We don’t really know why it didn’t click, it’s kind of nobody’s fault. We gave it our best. He gave it his best … we just kind of ran out of things to try.”
Brown conceded that McLaren’s car isn’t as fast as he’d like it to be, but added: “Sometimes athletes go into slumps or need a change of environment.”
The McLaren chief has long been an admirer of Ricciardo, who he attempted to sign in 2018 when the Australian made his shock exit from Red Bull.
Renault won his signature on that occasion but, two years later, Brown had his man, signing Ricciardo to a three-year deal.
However, despite promising so much, Ricciardo’s stint has delivered little outside of a drought-breaking Grand Prix win at Monza in 2021.
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It’s been a source of great personal disappointment for Brown, who remains a big fan of Ricciardo — as proven by the fact that McLaren still offered drives in IndyCar and Formula E, but was turned down for both.
Asked about how disappointing it’s been to not see Ricciardo thrive at McLaren, Brown said: “I’ve hated it.
“I tried to get Daniel before he went to Renault, so this was years in the making. I’m a huge Daniel fan. I’m still a huge Daniel fan and that’ll never change.
“I asked him if he wanted to drive for us in the IndyCar or Formula E… I’d love to keep Daniel in the family but he’s still very focused on Formula One, which I get, it’s the pinnacle of motorsports. I’d love to race with him again.
“It’s probably the toughest thing I’ve had in my time in motorsports, it wasn’t pleasant, not fun.
“But my job, along with (team principal) Andreas (Seidl), is to make the tough decisions and because we didn’t really see progress happening, it was like, ‘Well I think we just need to make a change for both of our sakes and hopefully get him in the situation where he can be competitive again and in a Formula One car wherever he ends up racing’, but (it’s been) a huge disappointment.”
‘WE KNOW WHAT REALLY HAPPENED’
Meanwhile, Brown also denied that Ricciardo was blindsided by McLaren in the team’s recruitment of Piastri, despite comments made by the driver in September.
Amid a dispute between McLaren and Alpine over Piastri’s signature, the FIA’s contract recognition board revealed that the former lodged paperwork for the Australian signed on July 4.
Ricciardo wasn’t told about his axing until after the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 31.
Speaking weeks later, Ricciardo said he didn’t know Piastri was already signed by McLaren before the mid-season break.
“To be honest, on the date, that’s the first I’ve heard,” he told Sky Sports at the time. “I’m not aware of obviously timelines and this and that, what the team’s discussing.”
But Brown insisted that his dealings were completely transparent with Ricciardo.
“We were transparent through the whole process and I know there had been tonnes of media speculation when it happened, how it happened,” Brown said.
“Daniel and I know what really happened and I think that’s why we still very much have a strong relationship.
“It was all transparent, well-communicated and there’s times we can tell people what’s going on and then there’s other times we just can’t.”
He added: “What’s most important to me is that when Daniel and I see each other, we give each other a big hug and we’ve got five races to go and we’re going to give it all we’ve got.”
Brown said that Ricciardo has been a “total professional” throughout the saga.
“I’ve got nothing but great things to say about Daniel in the way he has handled himself, put himself out there,” Brown said.
“I think we’ve owned it together, he is a great individual.”
Meanwhile, Ricciardo is set to sit out the 2023 F1 season while targeting a potential return to the category in 2024.
Next season could involve Ricciardo taking a reserve driver role, potentially at Mercedes where he has reportedly held advanced talks.
