McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl says Daniel Ricciardo’s statement confirming he is committed to remaining in Formula 1 “wasn’t a surprise” to the team.
Ricciardo’s ongoing struggles at McLaren have fuelled speculation about his future in recent weeks, despite still having a year left on his contract.
The Australian has has a hard time trying to match team-mate Lando Norris this year, scoring just 19 points in the opening 12 races compared to the 70 Norris has accumulated.
While Ricciardo signed a three-year deal with McLaren in 2021, CEO Zak Brown suggested that an option to part company was on the table due to “mechanisms” within the contract.
Amid rumours of several drivers that McLaren could be lining up to replace him, Ricciardo issued a statement on social media reaffirming his desire to see out his McLaren contract.
Seidl was clear Ricciardo’s comments hadn’t come as a surprise and that his renewed commitment was shared by the team.
“From our point of view, there was never any speculation required,” Seidl said, as quoted by Motorsport.com.
“We have been clear from our side that we have a contract in place, and our sole focus is together with Daniel on finding these last percentages in terms of performance.
“That is what we are focusing on. The statement wasn’t a surprise, it was just confirming where we both are together, which is in line with what we say for several months.
“So, no surprises.”
A list of candidates linked with Ricciardo’s F1 seat includes Indycar drivers Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta, who have both tested F1 machinery for McLaren.
Herta recently completed a two-day test in Portimao in McLaren’s 2021 car as part of its Testing Previous Cars programme, with the American admitting he feels ready to compete in the series.
Seidl stressed the schemes main purpose is to see who McLaren could consider running in an FP1 session this year to comply with F1’s rules on rookie drivers.
“In order to comply with the regulations there, you need to find the right guys, and you need to give these guys also the chance to be properly prepared, to make sure that actually they can show what they are able to do,” said Seidl.
“The interest on my side is also quite high to make sure they are properly prepared, because they go around the tracks with our race cars, with our race engines in, with our race gearboxes in. And you don’t want to experience any surprises there. That’s the process we are in.
“The guys we have selected so far I would say are interesting talents. They have shown in different categories, and in Indy as well, they can pull off some great performances.
“That is why we are interested to see what they can do also in a Formula 1 car.”
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