Hill predicts trouble for Ricciardo: "That's the big question mark"

According to Damon Hill, Formula 1 team bosses will question whether Daniel Ricciardo is still fast enough before offering him a chance in F1 for 2023. The Australian has had a difficult time at McLaren with mediocre performances.

Ricciardo is still without an F1 seat for 2023. The 33-year-old driver will leave McLaren after two years after the team preferred Alpine junior Oscar Piastri. Ricciardo's options within F1 seem to be getting fewer and fewer. Pierre Gasly is the big favourite for the seat at Alpine as Nyck de Vries looks to make the move to AlphaTauri. At Williams and Haas, there is also a seat vacant for 2023, but the two teams have other candidates in mind.

It is possible that even without a seat, Ricciardo will remain active in F1 next year as a reserve driver. Nor does the Australian rule out taking a year off in the hope of returning in 2024.

'Where has Ricciardo's pace gone?'

The question, however, is whether F1 team bosses are still convinced of Ricciardo's talent. The Australian's form has deteriorated following his arrival at McLaren. Ricciardo cannot match the speed of teammate Lando Norris. Hill fears at Sky Sports that other teams may not give him another chance after his mediocre years at McLaren. "Daniel's been such a fantastic character for our sport, effervescent and always smiling and stuff, but something’s gone wrong. Not only in his pace at McLaren, but also in his strategy for getting himself in a competitive car."

"Every team manager would be looking at him and everyone, every team, will be looking at him and asking: Where’s the pace gone? Is it coming back? And that’s the big question mark. We don’t know," says the former F1 driver.