Daniel Ricciardo McLaren contract: US driver Colton Herta eyes F1 seat

A F1’s popularity continues to grow in the USA there is growing speculation that a home-grown driver will be on the grid very soon - which is not good news for Daniel Ricciardo.

Daniel Ricciardo needs to watch his back, there’s a young American chasing his Formula One seat.

At 32 years-old Ricciardo is the fourth eldest driver on the grid and while the likes of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen have shown age is but a number in F1, time may be running out.

In 214 career race starts, Ricciardo has scored eight wins, three pole positions and 32 podiums.

But as his form continues to fall behind his young McLaren teammate Lando Norris, paddock whispers that a replacement could come in are getting louder.

With F1 expanding its presence and popularity in the USA twinned with American owner Zak Brown running the McLaren show, questions are being asked about when the yanks will be able to celebrate a home-grown driver.

Enter Colton Herta.

The 21-year-old, currently driving for Andretti Autosport in IndyCar, has never been shy about his ambitions in F1.

Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo is under the pump to start performing for McLaren. Picture: Getty Images

Earlier this year McLaren announced Herta would test their 2021 car after the FIA made a change to rules allowing teams to evaluate young talent using cars that were at least one year old.

Add to that his success in IndyCar - six wins and seven pole positions – you can start to believe the hype.

“If (Ricciardo) continues to build, I probably won’t have that opportunity, but hopefully Lando kicks his ass a bit more, so I can at least have a shot,” Herta said recently.

“Obviously, I’d never wish down on someone. I’m not praying for his downfall. If he does well, great for him – he deserves the seat. I guess it’s all in his hands for the future, but part of me does kinda hope I get the opportunity, at least a little foot in the door to maybe show what I can do.”

Herta has shown incredible ability behind the wheel, just last month he avoided a massive high speed collision with Aussie Will Power in the IndyCar series with stunning vision showing just how close the duo came to catastrophe.

Close calls today…. @12WillPower owes me a beer. pic.twitter.com/mcBOePnI43

— Colton Herta (@ColtonHerta) April 21, 2022

Ricciardo is contracted with McLaren until the end of 2023 with an option to extend but with America’s influence in F1 growing exponentially since Liberty Media purchased the sport back in 2017, it seems a driver and a team is not far away.

The USA has not had a successful F1 driver since Michael Andretti won the title in 1978.

But with a race in Las Vegas added to the calendar alongside Austin and Miami in 2023 together with the explosion of fans generated by Netflix show Drive To Survive, the sponsorship money alone makes an American driver on the grid a no-brainer for any team.

So does McLaren pounce before any rivals can poach?

Andretti announced in February this year his plans to launch a bid for an F1 team to join the grid by 2024 with an American driver a priority.

Besides Herta other names to watch include Logan Sargeant, a 21-year-old racing in Formula 2 and Ugo Ugochukwu who is signed on a long-term development contract with McLaren.

So can Americans compete in a motorsport division that has not been a popular hunting ground for so long?

Yes, according to Danny Sullivan, a US F1 hopeful from the 1980s

“I do not for a second believe that Americans can’t compete to win in Formula 1,” Sullivan told the New York Times. “Our kids are just as talented as any across the world.

“A major issue for these younger American kids is that their parents have to decide if they want to pick up and move overseas with them.

“And remember, there are only 20 seats in Formula 1. It’s cutthroat to get one, and even the most talented kids can get passed over. Do you really want to uproot your life for a few years, with no guarantee that you’ll even reach your goal?”

Originally published as Daniel Ricciardo McLaren contract: US driver Colton Herta eyes F1 seat