Daniel Ricciardo will leave McLaren F1 team at end of season

Daniel Ricciardo confirmed to leave the McLaren Racing Formula 1 team at the end of the current season

The F1 star’s decision comes after both partieis agreed to end his contract early. It was due to end after the 2023 season.

Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo joined McLaren from Renault for 2021 and enjoyed some success – including an emotional victory at Monza that year – but failed to maintain his momentum.

At the time of writing, he is in 12th place in the F1 driver’s championship, some five places and 57 points behind younger team-mate Lando Norris.

McLaren is yet to confirm Ricciardo’s replacement.

He said: “It has been a privilege to be a part of the McLaren Racing family for the last two seasons, but following several months of discussions with [CEO] Zak [Brown] and [team principal] Andreas [Seidl], we’ve decided to terminate my contract with the team early and agree to mutually part ways at the end of this season.

“I’ve never been more motivated to compete and be a part of a sport that I love so much and look forward to what comes next.”

Seidl said: “We will never forget that memorable race win in Monza, which was a great boost for the whole team.

“We still have an important battle in the constructors’ championship ahead of us for the remainder of the season, and we look forward to battling this out with Daniel and Lando.”

Ricciardo’s best finish in the 2022 season so far is sixth in the Australian Grand Prix in April, earning eight of his 19 total points.

He rose to prominence at Red Bull Racing but has struggled to find consistent form since moves to Renault and then McLaren.