“I’ve never been more motivated to compete and be a part of a sport that I love so much and look forward to what comes next.”
Ricciardo joined McLaren from Renault in 2020 full of promise after two podium finishes in a car that was only good enough for fifth in the constructors’ championship.
But from the start, he failed to gel with the car, which lacked the aggressive front-end grip, which brought him seven Grand Prix victories during five seasons with Red Bull.
This year’s all-new car brought the same traits and Ricciardo continued to be comfortable beaten by Norris, but not through lack of effort.
“I would like to thank Daniel for his dedication and contribution over the last two seasons so far,” said Seidl. “Despite the shared challenges, he has always turned up with a fighting spirit and positivity and helped the entire team to always keep pushing forward.”
Ricciardo’s victory at Monza was a rare high point of his time with McLaren
Clive Mason/F1 via Getty Images
Wherever Ricciardo moves, his target will be to unlock the fearless overtaker of old, who often beat former team-mate Max Verstappen and was regarded as a potential champion.
His win at Monaco in 2018 is often seen as a career highlight where Ricciardo took a dominating pole in qualifying, and then won the next day with a wounded car which had 25% less horsepower than usual for the remaining 50 laps.