The part about him not being a technical driver is absolutely what cost him in the end. When he first moved to Mclaren, he didn’t even do much sim work in the MTC unlike lando who was there every day trying to understand the data. He should take some lessons from sainz, who makes up for what he lacks in absolute raw talent through technical prowess

Man's career has went downhill ever since leaving RB. Escaped from RB to avoid being a #2 driver just to be a #2 driver at a team that can't even build a championship contending car to now being ejected for the newest hot talent. This is nearing Alonso's levels of career choices.

I'll be honest after last year I'm surprised they had hope in him for the second year , some moves just don't work out . Maybe that alpine seat is where he belonged all along or maybe him and kmag are gonna be future podium lockers with Haas . It's sad but at the same time im interested in seeing where this leads .

I know Lando isn’t technically a rookie anymore but he’s still a young gun and it’s gonna be interesting to see to Young guns on McLaren together I think it’ll work out well though

Just competitively… if I was alpine I’d offer DR a 1 year deal with a low salary and big performance bonuses. That way you get a good deal and only 1 year if he doesn’t perform - but if he does both the team is rewarded with points etc and DR gets $ and a contract extension. Honestly though - I don’t think DR is getting on with the new cars and no team change will fix that (imo).

I think that, similar to the McLaren Honda situation, the best thing to do for both parties was to split up. McLaren can get a driver that is able to adapt more to the car caracteristics, and Ricciardo can get a seat where he performs better and gets more out of the car.

You can sugar coat this any way you like but Ricciardo has not been performing at McLaren over the last year and a half,so therefore McLaren had no option but to get rid of him. If he'd been performing at the same level as Norris then McLaren would have finished 3rd in 2021 and be comfortably 4th this year.

That Danny Ric quote broke my heart. I know he hasn’t been performing well, but wish him the best

The Race delivers again!! Being an Aussie I have been keenly watching many KZfaq posts with regard to Ricco. The Race is the only channel that steers clear of over hyping the gossip and rumors, puts their technical and honest views at the forefront and backs it up with straight forward knowledge. Thank you to The Race team for your continued efforts👏

The speed comparison chart between teammates was very interesting. He was basically faster than everyone, (even vettel) except for Max in the final two years at Red Bull. And even there he was very close. I personally don't think he forgot how to drive or just lost it. I think he just can't come to terms with that car, which is interesting for someone of his caliber.

The First mistake was to leave Redbull. The second? Leaving renault

The bottom line is he is an incredibly nice guy but the reality is he is paid an enormous amount of money to produce results and he was given every opportunity to do just that and he simply didnt. Making so much of Monza last year is foolish: Ocon also won a race but so bloody what? Who cares:

From years spent sim racing, there are few things more frustrating than repeatedly not being able to find lap time that others are finding in the same car, especially when you’ve had a lot of success in the past. Hoping Ricciardo lands in a spot where he can find his form again and compete for wins

I like this, no hard feelings between Ric and the team. They talked about it, they understand it is not working not matter how hard they try, so they will go their separate ways, wishing all the best to each other. If it´s real and not just PR fairytale then I am impressed by both parties.

Great piece of work this video. Go The Race and thanks for helping me better understand some of dynamics at play for Ricco

Can't see Ricciardo being off the grid in the near future, but he's going to be on a very tight contract next year no matter what. Hopefully he can find his form again

I have an idea that i havent heard mentioned. Zhou Guanyu was an Alpine rookie, he is on the grid and he doesnt have a contract. If Alpine want a young driver with som promise, possibly similar in pace with Ocon, then Alpine could possibly buy out Zhou from Alfa Romeo, and then replace him with Theo Pourchaire, which could be good both for Alpine and Alfa.

What went wrong is he failed to adapt

Great video 👌 First music name?

Let's give some recognition here for ol mate doing a fantastic job explaining F1 issues in great detail...I can't remember his name atm . Excellent video as always champ.

Some very short memories in the comment section, there were very clear reasons for DR to leave RB and Renault. RB dropped the ball with DR in his last two seasons with him, he should have won more races but they were too pre-occupied with MV as #1. DR leaving RB and RB's failure to find a good replacement has forced RB to change how they treat the 2nd driver. Renault were not sure if they would even continue in F1, so hard to complain about a driver finding a ride elsewhere.

How likely is it that Gene tugs those nascar ties he’s got to negotiate a deal where Danny can race in F1 for a couple mor years, then maybe swap to Stewart-Haas in nascar eventually?

To me it seems like the 2022 cars are also limited by the front grip... But Pirelli is trying to bring new tires for 2023 that would try to compensate for the lack of front downforce (compared to rear)

Loved the detailed explanation. Best recardo video since this all began

What went wrong? The stopwatch is what went wrong!

Honourable that Maclaren kept him for that long tbh. RB would make him disappear before end of first season!

Anyone know how channels like this make their graphics?

I don't see it working out at Alpine but if they can get him on lower wages, he does have a pull. At his best he is a massive asset and if it doesn't work out on a 1yr contract, they can see what's available.

I hope Mclaren’s new wind tunnel and simulator have the desired effect, otherwise Mclaren are going to start running out of excuses for their lack of progress up the grid. - First it was Honda’s fault. - Then it was Renault’s fault. - Then it was Mercedes’ fault with a slow 2022 power unit. - Now Ricciardo is the main problem. Will James Key fall on his sword if his new tools don’t move the team forward in 2024?

I'm glad to hear finally. This was bringing him down and affecting his driving more and more. Hopefully he can relax now and thrash the Sh#% out of that car until the end of the season. I'd like to see him stick it up them and win and also win again somewhere else. Hopefully an option opens. I still hope he can get back in with Alpine but HAAS appear to be benefitting from new regs and are going places he and Magnusson will be good for developing that car and team. He and Albon together will also encourage more investment in the Williams too. There is no reason why that team cant be better now with new owners recently.

Next year is going to be critically for him, if he underperforms another year he will probably not get any offers from any team. However he has the possibility to return to his previous form now that he is changing team

This sounds very familiar to when Alonso left Renault to go to mclaren in 2007 and then went back to Renault. Let's see if history repeats itself with Daniel!

Ricciardo should retires at this point if his mindset is really only staying to when a f1 title it’s just not realistic anymore unfortunately

Can’t seeing Renault/Alpine or RedBull/AlphaTauri wanting him back.

One of the great cases of foot shooting of a career by a driver. If he was going to leave Red Bull, at least he should have gone to a team that was somewhere close to them or better in terms of competitiveness.

I´ve always loved his attacking style and I would be really sad to see him go...

I think Alpine should think twice about signing Ricciardo, because of his inability to adapt his driving to the car. Drivers that can't do that can always struggle, and it's not really wise to design a car around a driver, in my opinion. Drivers that can adapt are what you really need in F1 right now.

for me, not being a “technical” driver is unforgivable. you’re paid 25 millions a year, you better know everything there is to know about that car and give feedback to the team. all greats did it.

Simplest summary. Performance and Oscar Piastri (once he's confirmed to leave Alpine Academy to McLaren.) No need for a long wording as Alonso - Alpine rift earlier before the summer break gives out a massive clue. For Ricciardo, Alpine reunion is possible but I'm also thinking of other teams as well.

Great video

Hope he scores another win before leaving & next year if he scores a seat I would love to see him finishing ahead of both Maclarens

I think everyone would agree with me that one of the biggest "what if" in F1 is what if Ric would have stayed in RB

Wise choice for the Mic - but really Ricardo whata you going to take up tennis

Guys, why so many ads?? Totally interrupt the video, can we just have ads at the start, please??

It would be funny if Oscar had to repay all the financial support he received from Alpine.

Leaving RB was Danny Ric's worst decision.

I’m really glad Andreas Seidel has taken responsibility on behalf of McLaren that it didn’t work out between them and Danny, because it is partly on them that they couldn’t make a car work to his liking. Seb Vettel showed clearly during his Red Bull years how having a car that suits your style to a T can go, and he struggled with cars that weren’t to his liking. The same could be said for Daniel (obviously he’s never had a championship worthy car tho).

It always struck me as incredible that he would struggle in non-F1 interviews to explain how the cars worked to the interviewers. His raw speed is unquestionable; he's got it. The problem seems to be that if things aren't working, he seems to lack the ability and understanding to use the technical analysis all the drivers get to adapt and stay faster than his teammate. Very frustrating. He seemed a perfect fit for the new generation of McLaren, which to me was a racing team again rather than the technology business it became under Dennis. I think McLaren really worked to make this work, too. Perhaps DR really is better suited to a series like Indy where the focus on racing rather than insanely fine margins plays to his natural talents.

Rics downfall began with the unnecessary switch to Renault from the much more competitive Red Bull team. He went for the better salery instead of deciding for the better sportive challenge. This decision had an big impact onto his own capabilities as a driver, as the struggling Renault team, did not even give a glimpse of hope to fight for a win. Two podiums in two seasons are not enough to keep a sword like Dani Ric sharp.(As he is not at all an analytic driver, that just can deliver programmed processes. He is more of a natural instinctive driver.)

I have also long noticed that Daniel Ricardo uses his settings a lot less than other drivers. Some drivers will adjust their cornering settings they’re deaf and so on from corner to corner each lap often adjusting their settings 10 to 20 times a lab Ricardo does not do so he fiddles with his settings on his wheel maybe a couple times per lap and I’ve watched on boards of every driver every race as a gamer I just like to see what drivers are doing and how often they’re on their controls. I think this is something to do with Ricardo’s innate style he prefers to drive instinctively and naturally rather than mess with the settings and optimise everything to its limit

I am no expert ok but I find it hard to fathom that the guy couldn’t find a way. The best drivers either find a why to adjust to the car they have or eventually adjust the car to their driving style in conjunction with the team.

I don’t think any other driver has ever changed teams to a completely opposite style of car and got on well the first year. The difference in year two is that he doesn’t have the technical understanding that Vettel has to adapt. Doesn’t mean he’s a bad driver at all, imagine if you put Norris in the rb16b. He’d be spinning with the back end holding most of the strengths in the car. If anything this experience for ricciardo will make him faster next season if he races for alpine since he already has a fair amount of understanding for what he might need to do and won’t need to try as hard to adjust. Gasly got wrapped up in the technical aspect of his racing, which is why he was so bad at Red Bull. Ricciardo was forced into doing the same because of his racecraft, so in reality it probably isn’t just because he’s better with a completely different car-it’s a mental game he will never win. Anyone who thinks he doesn’t have it anymore is dead wrong, and I question your understanding of drivers’ preferred car strengths as a whole if you think that isn’t the main reason he struggles so much.

He should've never left rb and Renault

I always thought Ricciardo was overrated. I think he got good reputation and high expectations from when he was at RB, which he could not live up to. I think he jumped team before they/others could realize how, well, overrated he is.

Good summary of the situation but most of the video doesn't have much if anything to do with the thumbnail's question of "what went wrong"

So sad it ended up this way! I hope Ric can find a good seat for the future..I think he was the first driver to bring sort of "fresh air" in F1 with his jokes and just being him.

alpine and ricciardo seem like a match made in (revenge) heaven. The amount of potential drama and on track action next year if they are close would be amazing

Lando Norris vs. Daniel Ricciardo: • Quali average: 7.37 - 10.3 • Race average: 7.09 - 9.42 And they have a generational talent incoming with Oscar Piastri. It's a no brainer.

With the constant major rule changes it's not possible to build a car around the driver style any more (Schumacher). It no longer matters how good you are, if you cannot adapt to new cars you're not going to do well.

"Bear riding a bike without technical knowledge" - brilliant😆👏👏👏

Did you guys had this video ready from a couple weeks ago dint you guys?

All good man. My boy Ric is getting the big bag. Sometimes things just dont work out so no sweat. I would love to see Ric back in Alpine and schooling Ocon like he did in 2020 or better go to Haas to team up with K-Mag.

The issue is mate that in 2022 the DNA of the car stayed the same from the 2021 car amid the new technical regulations so the same problems that were there with the ML35 carried over over the the ML36.

Are we going to ignore that Redbulls and Renaults had same engine and engine maps. Thats what helped him and he had a team behind him which was dedicated to make him faster by what he wants out of the car not how he should adapt to the car. Cyril was a fan. McLaren is data driven team and they need exceptional raw talented people with technical know how and they are very very serious people. It doesn't work for DR. Honestly he should go to Williams. A silent revival is going on there and with a chance of williams switching to Renault engines anyway I think it will be a perfect place where he is comfortable.

An area not mention about DR is has had always been in a Renault powered car, which would be much different in drivability compared to the McLaren Merc engine. McLaren have always been a team based on technical understanding and development not about raw and natural. Only a few top drivers ever get it right in their whole career. DR is not very good at adapting to the constant changes required throughout an F1 season to the maximum. Alonso is one of the best at doing this. To be top 3 you need to adapt even if it’s not to your liking.

why would McClaren have given Ricciardo a 3 year contract in the first place? it's not like he was the shit. 2 years would have been better for all parties.

time to get it back the end. lets go mate

What is happening now is exactly what I feared for Dani when he left RB. He was a hot commodity at that time so maybe was a smart move at the time but he had a good place and RB would have been better having him the last 4 years. I hope he can find a seat.

I'm surprised he is still being chased by any F1 teams. 4 years of poor results - most drivers wouldn't come back from that.

There's always hope for DR to be honest Max verstappen was having a hard time with their new car because it was a certain way and checo was starting to eat at him, then they changed so Max can handle the car better and bow checo is losing out, it's all about the no1 if Norris is fast the way the car is and scoring points and podiums, there's no need to change for the other driver because no1 is who your looking at, shame DR couldn't adapt, he is honestly not just a nice guy, but with the right car he can make things special

Can’t help but think Alpine are not interested in Ricciardo, or they would’ve announced it as a swap with Piastri, not as a contract termination.

Man it would be nice to see him finish ahead of mclaren in the championship next year. Not a prediction, but that would be awesome!

Maybe the best way to motivate the money badger is to make a deal like Kimi's where he would get a certain amount for every points he scored.. perhaps then he will actually regains his form.. Cuz if he is relying on the last stand of his reputation.. I pity the team that bought the pitch of his previous glory days at red bull

He has a personality cult followers but you can only live on that reputation for so long. If you can’t drive fast or give good feedback to the team, you’re better off being an influencer, not an F1 driver.

Would LOVE to see Daniel at Alpine OR HAAS. I could see him fitting the US brand well. But I BEG him to please join F1 TV as a commentator eventually... WE NEED IT.

Hopefully ending it now proves more healthy than lingering another year for both of them. I still think he’d be best of the rest now in the standings instead of Norris if he’d not left Renault

I don't think Ricciardo going to Alpine... I remembered they part ways really bad. While Haas can offer ownership like Sauber did with Raikonnen...

They really are fanboys of Ricciardo. Never have I heard them explain in such detail how a driver drives & likes their car to handle. Don't try to give excuses and sugarcoat it, he could never get adjusted to the McLaren and was simply slow. That's it.

What a lot of the below comments reflect is that Danny Ric is the biggest problem at McLaren. Instead, you all should be utterly disturbed with the team right to the very top. This is a team that gets it wrong more than it gets it right. The fact they even hired Danny shows a lack of research, but then again, this is a under performing mid pack team that has failed, no matter what engine is in the back of the car. Alpine is smashing them right now. Danny Ric is part of the problem, he should never have joined McLaren, but it would be good to call out the McLaren leadership on a disaster year.

I worry how any settlement will affect Mclaren next year under the budget cap

Daniel is too expensive, and on a steep decline. Piastri over him is the right pick, and I’d still choose a junior over him if I was any of the other teams with open spots. The upside just isn’t there, unfortunately.

I recently started getting back into F1 in the last couple years. So I never really knew how some of these drivers got to where they are. In my eyes that guy lost it all the second he left RB. All he had to do was give Max some space.

If mclarens piastri contract was later than alpines it could still cost it a colossal amount in damages and expenses it will have to pay out to alpine and i suspect riccardo will end up back at alpine

Idk...but it felt like he was a good fit at Renault. I get that dream of driving for one of the most iconic teams in the world, that was seemingly headed to the top. But it looked as Danny Ric had it good at Renault, which I don't think he will again if he goes back there, since its not quite that team anymore..that Rossi guy who's in charge seems to be quiet 🤐 to work with

Blood in the water , all the Haters come out chopping. SMH

should've stayed at red bull instead of jumping teams every year, his career iq is terrible

You guys should do an interview with his current race engineer at McLaren

That bit at 5:02 to 5:20+ of Daniel Ricciardo calling Otmar is so hilarious XD

Ricciardo will leave F1. He can't drive this style of car quickly enough.

He should just move to Indycar and do what Romain did in his rookie season by only competing in the road courses/street tracks. CGR has an opening if Alex can get out of there, or he could go to Andretti if they want to boot Defranchesco

Maybe his success was more because of equipment instead to driver talent. He chased the money, got paid but in the long run may not have been the best decision.

After hi defence against Sebastian lando had the nerve to ask to go infront

Ricciardo's going to Haas to replace Schumacher and Alpine should stick to the program and bring up an Academy driver. Why repeat the same mistake? NOT doing that is what got Alpine in this mess in the first place by signing BOTH Ocon from Mercedes and Alonso from retirement. What sense did it make for Piastri to wait, given that none of the current Alpine F1 drivers were ever Alpine Academy drivers?

It took Schumacher 5 seasons to win a championship title with Ferrari . Modern drivers and teams want instant results. 🙄

I hate to say it but I don't know that he will sadly. His edge seems to have softened later in his career and it's just not there. Something is going on with him either physically or mentally that's blocked that feel of the car. It's like he doesn't trust it anymore.

Too many ads

I made the prediction on a video last year that his career at McLaren would be a failure and overall think he’s an overrated driver (despite how great of a person he seems to be). Fast forward a couple days from then and he won at Monza and everyone said I should eat my words. I’m really glad to be able to say now that I was right.

I'm sure he's absolutely kicking himself for leaving Renault, he'd be very lucky if he ended up back there for next season. And if I were him I wouldn't start demanding high salaries either, he should accept what he's been offered and figure out a way to revitalise his F1 career. I have nothing against Danny Ric personally, he's a great guy, but he's really shot himself in the foot on several occasions since leaving Red Bull and now effectively getting the sack from McLaren must hurt. All in all I hope things do work out for him, but he's running out of time and if he's still on the grid next year he needs to hit the ground running.

Alpine should be allowed to have Ricciardo for a test drive. Preferably before the end of the season or at least soon thereafter. There he can prove his worth and it’s a fair deal for both driver and team.

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