F1 news: Daniel Ricciardo linked with potential career lifeline at Haas

The ball is in Daniel Ricciardo’s court if he wants to remain in F1 with Haas keen for the Aussie to reach out. So could two icons of the sport unite?

McLaren's Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo (R) and McLaren's British driver Lando Norris (L).

Daniel Ricciardo has been offered a Formula 1 lifeline by Haas and all he has to do is pick up the phone, says team principal Guenther Steiner.

The American team has played coy over Mick Schumacher’s future for months but Steiner appears ready to hand the keys over to Ricciardo, should the Aussie make his interest known.

“If he’s interested in us, he’s not shy to call me up. I am not going to chase him down,” Steiner told The Associated Press ahead of the US Grand Prix in Austin this weekend.

“I want him to decide what he wants to do for himself, first, before being talked into something.

Daniel Ricciardo has been offered a chance to stay in F1 next year.

“I think he’s a good driver and I don’t know how he got in the situation he’s in now, but I think he needs to come clean with himself and decide what he’s going to do.

Steiner’s pitch to Ricciardo is almost identical to the one he made last month, when he told German news outlet RTL: “If he (Ricciardo) feels like it, he will certainly call, otherwise he will probably say, ‘I’ll do a sabbatical’ or something else.”

At the time the 2023 Alpine seat was still up for grabs however Ricciardo’s former team has since signed Pierre Gasly to partner Esteban Ocon from next season.

That news led Ricciardo to publicly concede he was unlikely to have a seat on the grid in 2023 – an acknowledgment that came despite both Haas and Williams still in the market for a driver upgrade for next season.

The West Australian finds himself in a difficult situation. As an eight-time race winner he is one of the better-credentialed drivers on the grid however his performances in the papaya have paled in comparison to his proven potential.

Haas F1 Team Principal Guenther Steiner.

Ricciardo made it clear he wanted a future in a car that would give him a chance to contend for podiums and race wins once more, however the top teams have their driver pairings set in stone.

All that is left to him for next season are backmarker teams like Haas and Williams, which for a competitor like Ricciardo are not flattering options.

At Red Bull and even Renault, he showed that with the right car he can challenge for podiums. His McLaren stint has highlighted that without a purpose-built machine he can struggle and that is something that Ricciardo himself has recently acknowledged.

That makes a move to Haas, in a likely inferior car to that which he now drives at McLaren, an even less appealing prospect.

But the American team and its ebullient leader Steiner clearly see Ricciardo as an upgrade on their current driver pairing and given the Aussie’s popular profile in the United States, he would be a marketing dream for Haas.

“For us he would be a big hit. He was a race winner and now he is without a job,” Steiner said.

“He was a race winner just last year. I rate him as a driver, I have no idea why he doesn’t perform right now. That is for him to figure out.”

Ricciardo might not have to sit out 2023 as previously thought.

Originally published as F1 news: Daniel Ricciardo linked with potential career lifeline at Haas