‘Hated it’: McLaren boss spills on Ricciardo sacking, disputes claim Aussie was blindsided

McLaren CEO Zak Brown admits he “hated” having to sack Daniel Ricciardo, describing it as the “toughest” ordeal of his career.

Zak Brown and Daniel Ricciardo.

McLaren boss Zak Brown admits he “hated” having to sack Daniel Ricciardo, describing the ordeal as “the toughest thing” he’s experienced in motorsport.

Ricciardo is in the F1 wilderness after McLaren opted to give him the flick with a year left on his contract and replace him with fellow Australian Oscar Piastri for 2023.

In an exclusive interview with Kayo Sports, Brown said McLaren “tried everything” to help Ricciardo but his poor results ultimately gave them no choice but to cut him loose.

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“Ultimately we weren’t getting the results that we needed and we’re a year-and-a-half into this,” Brown told Fox Motorsport host Jess Yates at the Bathurst 1000.

“We’ve all tried extremely hard, we love Daniel, he’s great to work with and continues to be great to work with.

“But we’re in the results business and the results weren’t coming and we felt we tried everything.

“We don’t really know why it didn’t click, it’s kind of nobody’s fault. We gave it our best. He gave it his best ... we just kind of ran out of things to try.”

Brown acknowledged the performance of McLaren’s car has been inconsistent, but added: “Sometimes athletes go into slumps or need a change of environment.”

The McLaren CEO has been a fan of Ricciardo for many years and initially tried to sign him in 2018 when the Australian left Red Bull.

Daniel Ricciardo’s time with McLaren is nearly over. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images )

Ricciardo joined Renault for two seasons but Brown got his man two years later, signing him to a three-year deal.

The 33-year-old’s underwhelming results across two seasons aside from a breakthrough win at the Italian Grand Prix left Brown disappointed and saddened.

Ricciardo is currently 12th in the drivers’ championship on 29 points, 72 behind teammate Lando Norris in seventh.

“I’ve hated it,” Brown said when asked what it’s been like to watch Ricciardo struggle at the papaya team.

“I tried to get Daniel before he went to Renault, so this was years in the making. I’m a huge Daniel fan. I’m still a huge Daniel fan and that’ll never change.

“I asked him if he wanted to drive for us in the IndyCar or Formula E … I’d love to keep Daniel in the family but he’s still very focused on Formula One, which I get, it’s the pinnacle of motorsports. I’d love to race with him again.

“It’s probably the toughest thing I’ve had in my time in motorsports, it wasn’t pleasant, not fun.

“But my job, along with (team principal) Andreas (Seidl), is to make the tough decisions and because we didn’t really see progress happening, it was like, ‘Well I think we just need to make a change for both of our sakes and hopefully get him in the situation where he can be competitive again and in a Formula One car wherever he ends up racing’, but (it’s been) a huge disappointment.”

Zak Brown hated having to sack Ricciardo. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Earlier this year, Brown said his main regret was not putting more “performance protections” in place in Ricciardo’s contract so McLaren could have avoided giving him a whopping payout of more than $20 million.

He also hoped to keep Ricciardo within the wider McLaren stable but Ricciardo wants to remain in F1 and will likely be Mercedes’ reserve driver next season. after he conceded he won’t be on the grid in 2023.

The West Australian is aiming to return to the F1 grid at a competitive team in 2024 but the options will be slim and it’s possible the remaining four races this year could be the last of his career.

Brown disputes claim Ricciardo was blindsided

Brown also disputed the claim Ricciardo was blindsided by the timing of McLaren’s recruitment Piastri.

The FIA’s contract recognition board revealed McLaren submitted paperwork for Piastri on July 4.

Ricciardo wasn’t told about his axing until after the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 31.

Amid a dispute between McLaren and Alpine over Piastri’s signature, the FIA’s contract recognition board revealed that the former lodged paperwork for the Australian signed on July 4.

Daniel Ricciardo didn’t see the Oscar Piastri news coming. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Ricciardo wasn’t told about his axing until after the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 31.

He said he was left in the dark and didn’t know Piastri was already signed by McLaren before the mid-season break, but Brown disagreed.

“We were transparent through the whole process and I know there had been tonnes of media speculation when it happened, how it happened,” Brown said.

“Daniel and I know what really happened and I think that’s why we still very much have a strong relationship.

“It was all transparent, well-communicated and there’s times we can tell people what’s going on and then there’s other times we just can’t.

He added: “What’s most important to me is that when Daniel and I see each other, we give each other a big hug and we’ve got five races to go and we’re going to give it all we’ve got.”

The F1 season continues at the United States Grand Prix on Monday 24 October at 6am (AEDT).