Jenson Button gives honest opinion on Ricciardo's position at Mclaren
Daniel Ricciardo's position at McLaren has been under increased scrutiny this season, as the Australian has struggled to match the impressive performances of his teammate Lando Norris.
Speculation about Ricciardo's F1 future has only become more intense in recent Grand Prix, despite his current contract expiring at the end of 2023.
This uncertainty has been partly fueled by recent comments by McLaren CEO Zak Brown, who has eluded to the 8-time race winner having performance clauses in his contract, giving the team mechanisms to separate from Ricciardo before the expiration of Ricciardo's contract.
Brown has admitted that Ricciardo is not meeting expectations, which was met with mixed reaction from pundits and fans alike.
Jenson Button spoke to Sky F1's "Any Driven Monday" show on the current situation at McLaren:
"I was surprised that he [Zak Brown] came out and said that. The one person you expect to protect you is your team...
It's a real mental game Formula 1, they all have immense skill but if your head's not in the right place then you don't perform.
So I was surprised that Zak came out and said he's not meeting expectations. We all know that, but when your team principal comes out and says that, it definitely hurts."