Daniel Ricciardo’s wretched F1 luck struck again at the Italian Grand Pix, although the Australian still delivered one of his best drives of the year amid uncertainty about his future.
The Australian is without a drive in 2023 having been bought out of the third and final year of his McLaren contract to be replaced by young compatriot Oscar Piastri.
There are now only six races left this season for Ricciardo to put himself in the shop window and improve his stocks, either for next year, or for 2024 when more vacancies are expected.
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A late oil leak at Monza torpedoed hopes of his highest finish since June, but Ricciardo still offered a reminder of his strong race craft that was once considered among the best, if not the best, in the field.
Despite struggling for pace, and his well-known discomforts in the McLaren cockpit, Ricciardo successfully held off AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly from the first lap until his retirement on Lap 47.
Gasly, whose AlphaTauri was quicker, was close to Ricciardo’s rear throughout the race but the 33-year-old didn’t put a single foot wrong under pressure, leaving Gasly frustrated.
“I’ll definitely have nightmares of Daniel’s rear wing over the next couple of days,” Gasly said after the race.
“I spent I don’t know how many laps behind him, but it felt like a lifetime.
“I tried everything, but he didn’t do one single mistake.”
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‘HORRIBLE LUCK’: Oil leak robs Daniel Ricciardo of points finish in Italian Grand Prix
Ricciardo started the race in fourth by virtue of several grid penalties for other drivers, then jumped to third after teammate Lando Norris repeatedly went into anti-stall.
Norris eventually made up most of the ground while the quicker cars of Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes made it past Ricciardo and Gasly.
Ricciardo’s race was firmly with the Frenchman, and he was on the verge of finishing eighth until his car threw in the towel.
Speaking to reporters after the race, Ricciardo said he was pleased with his performance until matters were taken out of his hands.
“I got a decent start obviously, was in third, and I was kind of hoping the race would end on Lap 1, another podium would have been really good, but didn’t have the pace,” Ricciardo said.
“I was trying to hang on today with Gasly and he was definitely quicker, so I was happy to hold him off for pretty much the whole race.
“But I wish we had a bit more to show.”
Ricciardo ultimately fell in line with the Monza curse. He is the third-consecutive driver to not finish the Italian Grand Prix the year after winning the race, following Gasly and Leclerc.
It’s a big blow that means he’s languishing in 14th in the drivers’ standings with only 19 points to show for his 2022 campaign.
What Ricciardo does next year is unclear, although there are only vacancies at Williams, Alfa Romeo, Alpine and Haas.
Gasly is heavily rumoured as the frontrunner at Alpine, while Nyck de Vries impressed in his F1 debut for Williams on Sunday, and could partner Alex Albon full-time next year.
That leaves Alfa Romeo and Haas, although the most likely outcome for Ricciardo is that he takes next year off and targets a return in 2024.
It had been rumoured that the latter scenario could see him take up a role as a reserve driver, potentially at Mercedes with Hamilton out of contract at the end of 2023.
Ricciardo has said the’s open to anything, including a reserve role, but Hamilton said during the Italian Grand Prix that he still has no plans on stopping any time soon.
“For years we’ve been going around, up and down, with stories of retirement and stopping,” Hamilton said while sitting next to Ricciardo. “For me, I feel healthier than I’ve ever felt, and I focus a lot on that.
“I’m feeling fit, I love what I’m doing, and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon — sorry, buddy!”
Ricciardo also jokingly shot down the plan during a post-race show with F1.com’s Will Buxton.
During the broadcast, Buxton joked that he would co-host the show with Ricciardo in 2023 if the Australian took a reserve role with Mercedes.
Ricciardo replied: “Oh, I’m definitely not doing it then!”
