Speaking to the In the Fast Lane podcast, Ricciardo talked a bit about his exit from F1, and also about the soap opera involving Oscar Piastri. According to the experienced driver, nothing that has happened affects his relationship with his young compatriot.

After two bad seasons with McLaren, the British team decided to break Daniel Ricciardo 's contract and announced Oscar Piastri as its new driver for 2023. The young Australian's arrival has attracted a lot of attention, mainly because of the whole soap opera that has been created between the driver and his former team, Alpine.

Grudges?

During an interview for the podcast, Ricciardo denied that he harbours any hard feelings towards Piastri because of the whole process. According to him, the moment of reaching Formula 1 should be celebrated and remembered for life, something Piastri could not do after the case stopped in court.

"I definitely felt sorry for him," Ricciardo said. "Don't get me wrong, of course my career was kind of going bad, so I was certainly very busy with myself and trying to figure out what the hell I would do. But at the same time, I was aware of some of the comments and other things that were going against him. I felt for him, I think, for a couple of reasons. One is that it must be the biggest moment of his life, getting into Formula One. It's a dream come true, and if it can't really be enjoyed or celebrated, it's a shame," he said.

Leaving Alpine

After being Formula 2 champion in 2021, Piastri served as Alpine's reserve in 2022 and did not like the plan that the French team presented for his career, which even involved a passage to gain experience at Williams. Thus, the young Australian decided to sign with McLaren and saw Otmar Szafnauer 's team seeking legal means to annul the contract.

The Contract Recognition Board (CRB) validated the English team's agreement with the driver and even condemned Alpine to pay the procedural costs of the trial. In Ricciardo's opinion, Piastri was ultimately involved in the situation, but he is not responsible for everything the deal generated from then on.

"He was inside that situation, but it's not like he created the situation. Itwas just a product of all these things happening," he admitted.

Defending his compatriot

Ricciardo further came out in defence of Piastri for all the criticism the young driver has been receiving. "We were all just trying to do the best we could. Nobody really knows him that well yet as a driver, as a person - as an individual. It's a bit harsh that he's being criticised, when people are just making their own assumptions. So, I felt for him. This should be one of the proudest moments of his career, not something he's afraid to talk about," he concluded.