Hamilton compares own situation with Ricciardo: 'It takes time'

Lewis Hamilton is sorry to see Daniel Ricciardo leave McLaren at the end of the season, he tells Crash.net. The seven-time world champion has a lot of respect for his colleague and hopes the Australian will be able to secure a place in Formula 1 again in 2023.

McLaren signed a three-year contract with Ricciardo at the beginning of 2021, which the British racing team cut itself in half. Since the contract ran for one more season, the team had to pay Ricciardo a considerable sum of money to leave.

Hamilton, however, finds the longer contract understandable. "When you do a short deal it takes time to bond with the team," he explained. "And it takes time to build relationships, it’s not something you can do in half a year, or a year. I am incredibly grateful for my journey with my team."

Although Ricciardo eventually agreed to leave McLaren, he is still hoping to continue his Formula One career. Haas and Alpine seem to be the biggest candidates to sign the former teammate of Max Verstappen.

According to Hamilton, Ricciardo would deserve to be on the starting grid next season as well. "I still think he deserves a place in the sport so I really hope there’s somewhere great for him because he’s still got lots to achieve."