Daniel Ricciardo given $325m reasons to smile ahead of McLaren switch

Aussie star Daniel Ricciardo’s switch to join a new team has been given a monster boost before he even sits down behind the wheel.

It’s going to be all smiles at McLaren.

Daniel Ricciardo’s final weekend in the Renault hasn’t gone according to plan with the Aussie only able to finish 12th in qualifying.

His former Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen claimed a stunning pole position at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, edging out the powerhouse Mercedes duo of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton.

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Ricciardo will be looking to go out on a high with the team he joined in a shock departure from Red Bull. Posting on Instagram after qualifying: “Argh not the best evening with qualifying. But ain’t sending it off like that. Last one with Renault tomorrow”.

Despite the disappointing result, Ricciardo has plenty of reasons to smile ahead of his switch to join McLaren and partner with Lando Norris from next season.

A report from Sky Sports notes a consortium of US-based investors is close to buying a major stake in the team.

The company is MSP Sports Capital with the investment being an eye-watering $A325 million, according to Sky Sports.

Money money money money.

The giant money-making deal is expected to be announced ahead of the final race of the season, coming just before McLaren’s biggest race in seasons.

Currently sitting fourth on the constructors standings, Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz qualified fourth and sixth respectively and have a major chance of elevating their team to third on the standings.

Racing Point currently sit third 10 points ahead, however Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez were only able to qualify eighth and 16th respectively.

If Norris and Sainz can outscore their opponents by more than 10 points, they’ll claim third on the constructors standings. Doing so for the first time since 2012 for McLaren.

The partnership everyone has been waiting for.

Ricciardo couldn’t pinpoint why things went wrong during the second qualifying session, but said he’s keen to go out on a high once the lights go green in Abu Dhabi.

“It’s a shame finishing twelfth today as we looked quick this morning (in practice) with third and fourth and we were aiming for much higher than that,” said Ricciardo.

“We got through to Q2 quite comfortably with just one fast lap on the softs, but then we struggled to match the pace on both medium and soft tyres. I don’t think we know why yet, so we’ll take a look at it tonight.

“I don’t like starting eleventh, but we both have tyre choice tomorrow so that’s a positive from today as strategy is going to be key in the race.

“We saw last weekend how starting on the medium tyres can pay off, so we have options tomorrow. It’s my last race with the team too and I want to make sure we end this on a high.”

Renault are currently fifth on the constructors standings, 12 points behind McLaren and 22 behind Racing Point.

ABU DHABI QUALIFYING RESULTS

1) Max Verstappen — Red Bull 1:35.246

2) Valtteri Bottas — Mercedes +0.025

3) Lewis Hamilton — Mercedes +0.086

4) Lando Norris — McLaren +0.251

5) Alexander Albon — Red Bull +0.325

6) Carlos Sainz — McLaren +0.569

7) Daniil Kvyat — AlphaTauri +0.717

8) Lance Stroll — Racing Point +0.800

9) Charles Leclerc — Ferrari +0.819

10) Pierre Gasly — AlphaTauri +0.996

11) Esteban Ocon — Renault 1:36.359

12) Daniel Ricciardo — Renault 1:36.406

13) Sebastian Vettel — Ferrari 1:36.631

14) Antonio Giovinazzi — Alfa Romeo 1:38.248

16) Sergio Perez — Racing Point (no time set in Q2)

16) Kimi Raikkonen — Alfa Romeo 1:37.555

17) Kevin Magnussen — Haas 1:37.863

18) George Russell — Williams 1:38.045

19) Pietro Fittipaldi — Haas 1:38.173

20) Nicholas Latifi — Williams 1:38.443