F1 News: McLaren Chief Reveals Annoyance Over Daniel Ricciardo Loss - "Accused Of Certain Behaviour"

McLaren CEO Zak Brown candidly discusses the challenging decision to have Daniel Riccoardo leave the team.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown expressed the complexity and emotional challenge of ending the team's relationship with Daniel Ricciardo.

Key Takeaways:

• Difficult Departure: Zak Brown acknowledged the difficulty in parting ways with Daniel Ricciardo.
• Ricciardo's Career Movements: After leaving McLaren, Ricciardo temporarily joined Red Bull as a reserve driver, later making a comeback to the grid with AlphaTauri in July 2023.
• McLaren's Current Lineup and Future: Brown discussed the current dynamics within McLaren, particularly the partnership between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and how it influences the team's performance and feedback consistency.

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The McLaren team principal, Zak Brown, admitted in a candid conversation on the Track Limits Podcast that the decision to end Daniel Ricciardo's stint with the team was a painful one. 

"Breaking up with Daniel was very difficult. You know, love Daniel. Great guy,” Brown said. 

“It just didn’t work out, but that wasn’t the master plan in the end, so that was a very difficult situation.

“Especially, something like that is very public and then everyone has their opinions, and 99% of them don’t actually know what’s going on behind the scenes.

“So, to get accused of certain behaviour…where they’re just not informed, and that’s the nature of the beast when you’re in the spotlight. Everyone has an opinion, but they don’t have the facts, so that was very difficult.”

Ricciardo's exit from McLaren marked a significant shift in his career. Initially left without a drive for the 2023 season, he returned to Red Bull in a reserve capacity before finding his way back to the grid with AlphaTauri in mid-2023. Brown expressed relief and happiness seeing Ricciardo perform well at AlphaTauri.

“On a side note, great to see Daniel doing so well at AlphaTauri because he’s a great, great guy, won me my first race.”

Addressing the public's reaction to Ricciardo's departure, Brown pointed out the challenges of being in the spotlight, especially when decisions are misinterpreted due to a lack of behind-the-scenes information. 

“So, to get accused of certain behaviour…where they’re just not informed, and that’s the nature of the beast when you’re in the spotlight," he said.

Additionally, Brown shed light on McLaren's current lineup:

“But I think Oscar is keeping Lando on his toes,” he admitted. “I think the benefit is they like a very similar race car, so we’re getting consistent feedback from the two.

“Last thing you want to do is have two drivers that one says they have understeer, the other says they have oversteer and then kind of what do you do?

“So, I think we’re benefiting from having two very fast drivers that are very technical and we do have an experienced and a rookie, it’s just that our experienced guy happens to be pretty young.”