Surprise at Brown's words: 'From Daniel's response, it hurt"

Daniel Ricciardo had hoped to flame into his second year with the McLaren team, but for now the Australian has been a lot slower than teammate Lando Norris time after time. Zak Brown indicated last weekend that Ricciardo's position is a bit under pressure and those words surprised Jenson Button.

McLaren CEO Brown hinted that Ricciardo does indeed have a contract through 2023, but that there are options to get out of that contract sooner if the 32-year-old driver continues to disappoint this season. Button doesn't really understand what Brown wants to achieve with his statements.

"Everyone with the team should be protecting these drivers. Formula 1 is a real mental game. They all have immense skill but you don't perform if your head is not in the right place," the single world champion explained to Sky Sports. "I was surprised Zak came out and said he was not meeting expectations - we all know that. But when your team principal comes out and says that, it definitely hurts. From Daniel's response, it hurt."

Early departure of Ricciardo?

Button doesn't think there are any incredibly numerous and easily lit exit clauses in Ricciardo's contract. After all, the Perth-based driver was announced as a big hire. "I would say the contract is more in his favour, but there will always be clauses." Button advises Ricciardo not to continue driving for McLaren if they no longer want to.

Many drivers are already on contracts for 2023 and so the options for McLaren would be limited if they wanted to attract a replacement for Ricciardo. Everyone above Ricciardo in the world championship except Sergio Perez already has a commitment for next year in the bag. Of the current drivers in the field, only Pierre Gasly or so Perez seems to be a serious option.