Ricciardo and Piastri haven’t spoken during insane contract storm

Daniel Ricciardo has revealed an extraordinary detail that shows there is a divide between Australia’s two biggest motorsport stars.

Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri.

Daniel Ricciardo says he has not spoken to fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri throughout their extraordinary contract storm.

The McLaren driver on Friday morning (AEST) at the Belgian Grand Prix spoke to the media for the first time since his sacking from McLaren was confirmed.

The 33-year-old is reportedly set to walk away with a pay out between $14 and $24 million as he heads into the 2023 Formula 1 season suddenly without a job.

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Piastri’s future has gone somewhat overlooked in the frenzy that has surrounded Ricciardo this week and the Alpine reserve driver is still unable to confirm his move to McLaren in 2023 — where he will ultimately replace Ricciardo.

Piastri was contracted to Alpine but rejected the team’s seat after it announced without his consent that he would be driving for them in 2023. It was an extraordinary development in the wake of Fernando Alonso’s shock exit for Aston Martin.

It’s still unclear if Piastri will be able to drive for McLaren as both the Alpine and McLaren contracts have been deemed valid and could result in a court battle.

There are now five teams that have open seats for 2023, but Alpine remains the most competitive team with an available seat that Ricciardo could fill. It is the same team, previously known as Renault, that Ricciardo left after two years.

Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Photo by Jure Makovec / AFP)

Through it all, Ricciardo and Piastri have been at the centre of the storm — but have not spoken about it together.

It may say everything or absolutely nothing about the relationship they have.

However, the way the saga has played out, with reports Piastri and his manager — and Formula 1 great — Mark Webber had been making backroom deals to oust Ricciardo, it makes it very easy and very unfair to portray the reigning Formula 2 world champion as the bad guy.

It doesn’t help that Ricciardo hasn’t spoken to Webber or Piastri, but the West Australian has stressed it is simply the nature of the cut throat business.

In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, he said there are no hard feelings.

“I honestly still don’t know what the future holds for Oscar. But yeah... it’s just business. Mark’s doing his job for Oscar. I don’t take any of that personal,” he said.

“Assuming Oscar is guaranteed a spot on the grid somewhere next year, I will support a fellow Aussie. I don’t think there’s been reason for them to reach out.”

It is an eyebrow-raising coincidence that Ricciardo was the man who ended Webber’s Formula 1 career when he took his seat at Red Bull in 2013.

Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri.

The incredible dynamic between the trio potentially appears to be absolute gold for the hugely popular Drive to Survive documentary series, but Ricciardo has bigger things to worry about.

He says he is hungrier than ever to achieve success in the sport and is desperate to find a team that can put him near the front of the grid.

Those dreams — at least in 2023 — appear to be dead already.

Ricciardo was reportedly contacted by four other teams and has even had a tenuous link to making a play for Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes seat if the seven-time world champion decided to retire.

Haas were also publicly revealed as one of the four teams. Williams has also reached out to him.

At this stage, Alpine appears the most attractive proposition as the team sits fourth in the constructors championship, ahead of McLaren.

However, there is still potentially bad blood between him and his former team over the manner of his departure. Alpine driver Esteban Ocon also made a public declaration this week that he wants Mick Schumacher to be his teammate in 2023.

McLaren had offered Ricciardo spots in IndyCar and Extreme E but the Aussie stated he wants to stay in F1, even if it means taking a year off.

Ricciardo admitted his phone had been calling “a lot” during the summer break but said: “I don’t want to make rash decisions, I want to get racing then see what feels right once I get the helmet back on.

“I haven’t signed anything,” he continued. “At this moment, I’m a free man so to speak.”