Wildlife stole the show in Phillip Island. Mario Andretti drove a McLaren F1 car. Colton Herta will not be driving a McLaren, at least not in any upcoming Friday practices. Álex Palou and Patricio O'Ward will compete in some Friday practices, Palou in Austin and O'Ward in Mexico City. Kurt Busch is stepping back from full-time racing. Some drivers sampled IndyCars in a test at Sebring. The World Touring Car Cup will be ending after this season. European Le Mans Series had a slight delay to its season finale. One of Formula E's worst teams is getting two of the series' best drivers. Here is a rundown of what got me thinking.
Wasted Talent
Daniel Ricciardo will not be on the Formula One grid in 2023. The Australian confirmed that reality ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix. We will likely not see Ricciardo compete anywhere in 2023. Ricciardo has made it clear he is focused on taking his sabbatical with an eye toward a return to the grid in the future.
A winner of eight grand prix, the 33-year-old has become a maligned figured in recent seasons. While becoming a fan favorite for his personality, Ricciardo's results have fallen off from his Red Bull years where he won in a car while four-time world championship Sebastien Vettel couldn't, and Ricciardo looked like a potential future world champion.
Though he won the Italian Grand Prix last season, Ricciardo currently sits 12th in the World Drivers' Championship with four races to go. It would be his worst championship finish since he was 14th in the 2013 season with Scuderia Toro Rosso. He has only scored points in five races this season after scoring in 13 races last year and 15 races in 2020. Five points finishes would be his fewest in a full-time Formula One season.
Despite the results, many believe Ricciardo is still a talented driver. Some of his recent success suggests he is still capable, but he has not come close to replicating what he did at Red Bull.
Between demand for a high salary, wearing out his welcome at another team and a wave of development drivers, Ricciardo is off the grid. His only options were steps backward. In his mind, choosing not to race is better than racing anywhere, including in a different series.
The 2023 season is off the table, but his sights are set on 2024, and for that return to come, he hopes to be involved around Formula One next year. Racing elsewhere would be stepping out of the bubble and signaling he has moved on.
It is the danger of the "Formula One or bust" mentality. Out of sight and out of mind. Once you are gone, no one will be interested to call you back. It is a limitation to a driver's career.
Ricciardo can race anywhere. He is already a proven Formula One race winner. The victory total might not be as high as he would like and that championship didn't happen, but there is plenty Ricciardo could still achieve. He could pave his own path and leave a different legacy on the motorsports world.
However, Ricciardo doesn't want to give up on Formula One. It is admirable. He believes in himself and believes he can still be the best in the top series in the world. Thirty-three isn't as old as it once was. Many drivers are racing into their 40s in Formula One when it was once uncommon to see. A year out doesn't always end a career, but it normally requires some backing for a driver to return to the grid.
Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso each took multi-year sabbaticals and returned to Formula One. Esteban Ocon was out for the 2019 season before he returned with Renault in 2020, coincidentally teaming with Ricciardo.
But Räikkönen and Alonso were past world champions. Ocon was a Mercedes reserve driver in 2019. At the moment, Ricciardo has no official affiliation with any team. Any return to the grid in 2024 would be off teams seeing Ricciardo available and figuring it wouldn't hurt to give him a shot... provided they present the Australian with a salary he deemed worth of his services.
Ricciardo is betting staying in the bubble will be enough to warrant another opportunity.
What if that doesn't work? Ricciardo is 33 years old. His number of seasons are running out. He still has plenty left but he is at the point where they are becoming a little scarcer.
There is a world where Ricciardo sits out and nobody calls him for a 2024 ride. Does he double down and bet on 2025 when he will be 36 years old? At some point, doing nothing doesn't pay off.
Everyone dreams of Formula One and being a world champion. Ricciardo got closer than most and achieved a respectable career. But there is more to motorsports than Formula One. Many historic and career changing races are out there to conquer. These series might not present $20 million annual salaries, but they are comfortable livings and with the chance of additional prestige. It is ok to love Formula One and want to be there, but confining oneself to "Formula One or bust" is a disappointingly narrow mindset to carry.
We do not all have Ricciardo's ability. This God-given gift of race car driver is something only a handful are blessed with. If you are able to reach Formula One and win there, the world is your oyster. Every series is open to you. You can run all the great races.
Drivers constantly say how much they love racing and would do it for nothing and do it just for the love of it. There is a fair expectation that no driver will truly do it for nothing. Every person should make a sufficient wage, but to have this ability, want to race and then choose to do nothing is wasting what many would never take for granted.
This comes down to the individual, and Ricciardo may not like what he finds down the road. Ricciardo isn't taking a year off after being a mid-field driver. He has been to the top and made changes hoping to fly a little higher. Those choices didn't pan out. There is no reason to believe he will ever get a call from a top team every again. Even with a year off, the offers on the table could be the same ones presented for the 2023 season, only this time served with a side of crow.
Ricciardo can find happiness competing outside of Formula One, and it wouldn't necessarily be the end of his career. Kevin Magnussen went to IMSA in 2021 after leaving Haas F1. Magnussen won and was competitive again while also getting to experience a handful of new racetracks. He loved the experience and despite leaving to run sports cars in the United States, Magnussen ended up back in Formula One in 2022.
Even if it doesn't work out for Ricciardo, he could reignite his passion for competing while also finding a healthier balance in his life. There are so many experiences out there that are not obtainable in a Formula One career. A different taste of life could be what Ricciardo's soul is looking for. And if team's believe in Ricciardo's ability and want to give him an opportunity, they will call him up regardless of where he is competing.
Many drivers are Formula One or bust, and it isn't just the ones that are race seats. There are plenty of names that disappear for a year or two or more because they are test drivers or simulator drivers or reserve drivers. They are seen more standing at the back of the garage and in a team's kit than behind the wheel of a race car. What a devastating life that must be. A horse tied up in its barn stall but never allowed out to run through the pasture.
Everyone wants to be in Formula One, but it should not dictate career decisions that leads to missed opportunities elsewhere. You never hear a driver saying they wished they raced less when a career is over. With many prime years ahead of Ricciardo, does he really want to burn one waiting for something that may never return?
Champions From the Weekend
The #9 Prema Racing Oreca-Gibson of Louis Delétraz and Ferdinand Habsburg clinched the European Le Mans Series LMP2 championship with a victory in the 4 Hours of Portimão with third driver Juan Manuel Correa.
The #17 Cool Racing Ligier-Nissan of Mike Benham, Malthe Jakobsen and Maurice Smith clinched the ELMS LMP3 championship with a victory in Portimão.
The #77 Proton Competition Porsche of Gianmaria Bruni, Lorenzo Ferrari and Christian Reid clinched the ELMS GTE championship with a fifth-place finish in Portimão.
Ivan Guevara clinched the Moto3 World Championship with his victory at Phillip Island, his sixth victory of the season.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about some results from Portugal and Ivan Guevara, but did you know...
Álex Rins won MotoGP's Australian Grand Prix, his first victory since the 2020 Aragón Grand Prix. Alonso López won the Moto2 race, his second victory of the season.
Joey Logano won the NASCAR Cup race from Las Vegas, his third victory of the season. Josh Berry won the Grand National Series race, his third victory of the season.
The #83 Iron Lynx Ferrari of Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting and Doraine Pin won the GTE class at the 4 Hours of Portimão.
Coming Up This Weekend
Formula One races in Austin.
MotoGP's penultimate round in Malaysia.
World Superbike visits Argentina.
World Rally Championship has its final round in Europe with Rally Catalunya.
NASCAR's antepenultimate round at Homestead.
