Andreas Seidl says that Daniel Ricciardo has a contract to continue racing at McLaren in 2023. Earlier in the day, team CEO Zak Brown indicated that there may be "mechanisms" to terminate the Australian's deal, as Ricciardo has not lived up to "expectations."
Andreas Seidl says that Daniel Ricciardo has a contract to continue racing at McLaren in 2023. Earlier in the day, team CEO Zak Brown indicated that there may be "mechanisms" to terminate the Australian's deal as Ricciardo has not lived up to "expectations."
Team boss Seidl told German Sky in Baku, "Yes, Daniel has a contract with us." The German also stresses that Ricciardo will continue to receive full support from the team.
"Formula One is a team sport and it doesn't matter to me whether it's mechanics, engineers or the driver," Seidl commented. "It is important that we have a culture within the team where internally we are very clear about the things we need to improve."
He also seems to disagree with Brown that it is appropriate to criticize drivers publicly. "It's very clear that it's my job as team manager to protect the team from the outside world," Seidl explained. "In the last 20 years, I have not seen a driver become faster because he was publicly criticized."
"We have a contract with Daniel for next year and that is why we are all calm, working hard and trying to find the percentages that he is losing at the moment. And then we hope for better results with him again," Seidl concluded.