McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo has been the subject of plenty of debate in recent weeks after news of Oscar Piastri vying for his seat came to light.
While some speculated that this could see the end of Ricciardo’s involvement in F1 for the foreseeable future, it now appears like the Australian will be afforded a chance to continue his career in 2023.
An ESPN report confirms that Ricciardo was contacted by Haas team boss Guenther Steiner at the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 31 over joining the team.
It is widely rumoured that Ricciardo will be shown the exit door at McLaren after two disappointing seasons after his time at Renault.
Alpine is also believed to be keeping tabs on Ricciardo and a number of other drivers after Fernando Alonso announced that he will move to Aston Martin for 2023.
Will Ricciardo face a salary cut?
While Haas will have the services of Kevin Magnussen for 2023, Mick Schumacher’s contract ends after the current season.
With the son of Michael Schumacher failing to impress the management during his time with the team, Ricciardo has been considered as a potential replacement.
While Ricciardo may have a year left on his deal at McLaren, it has been reported that it will actually be cheaper for them to sack him and pay his severance as well as Oscar Piastri’s salary through the year than keep Ricciardo and continue to pay him his full wage.
Ricciardo currently earns £12.2m at McLaren.
It makes him the fifth-highest grosser on the grid.
Meanwhile, Schumacher makes less than £1m.
Given his gradual fall in recent years, it is not hard to imagine Ricciardo getting a significant pay cut if he is to join Haas.
As for Schumacher, he has faced criticism from Steiner for how frequently he has crashed this season and ended up using a significant chunk of the team’s budget.
However, he has shown some improvement in recent races and even managed to score some points at the British and Austrian race weekends.
Do you think Haas will take a risk and opt for Ricciardo, or has Schumacher done enough to earn a contract extension? Let us know in the comments.
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