2009 Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button has doubts about Daniel Ricciardo returning to the Formula 1 grid if he doesn’t have a drive in the 2023 season.
With all but one of the F1 line-ups for next year already settled, the only seat in dispute is Kevin Magnussen’s team-mate at Haas.
The Australian driver has previously confirmed that he has been in talks with some F1 teams about a potential reserve driver role after twelve years of being a household name on the grid.
However, Button believes that if he sits it out, it will be tough for him to come back: “I guess he didn’t want to drop too far down the grid and work with a team that’s more towards the rear.
“Because it’s difficult for a driver coming from a team that is almost winning races at times to suddenly know you’re fighting for points. It is tough. But I still think it would have been a better move for him.
“Go into a team, work hard, show people what you can do, in a car that maybe suits your car a bit more, and then people forget what happened the year before.
“That’s the issue now, people forget how good Ricciardo is because he’s had such a difficult year and a half or two years.
“But he has the talent and in a car that suits him, he would show his skill and then he has the opportunity to race in a top team again, but sitting out? People just remember what happened last year.
“It’s a tricky one and I really struggle to see him coming back to a competitive team after having a year out.”
Ricciardo had one of the best drives of his season in Mexico City, winning driver of the day and keeping seventh place due to sheer race pace on the soft compound tyres.
He received a ten-second time penalty for causing a clumsy collision with Yuki Tsunoda at turn six which ended the Japanese driver’s afternoon but put on an overtaking clinic to claw back the time.
There’s still talk of Hulkenberg getting back in, and he hasn’t ever made it onto the podium, usually losing his bottle and stuffing it into the wall whenever a chance presented itself. Therefore with eight wins and twenty-four other podium finishes, which is far more than most of the drivers on the grid can boast, I can’t see why Ricciardo should be considered as being out of contention for future opportunities.
Because he peaked years ago and turned into a washed up cuck. He’s useless in F1.
Only five drivers on the grid have won more races than Ricciardo. Four of them are multiple world champions, the other had five years in the most dominant car in the history of the sport, yet has only two more wins than Ricciardo. He has won the same number of races as all of the other fourteen drivers put together. During his time at McLaren he has won one race, which is exactly one more than his supposedly potential champion teammate. All of which statistically refutes your claim. If Ricciardo is deemed to be the cut-off point, where he and all below him are eliminated, there would be precisely four cars competing in Formula One next year.
You are probably replying to a 12 year old that can barely string a couple of words together and never left his mom’s basement. You are completely right but i don’t think that person has the ability to understand nuance, data or statistics.