The glaring stat that shows why McLaren will replace Ricciardo for F1 2023

The glaring stat that shows why McLaren will replace Ricciardo for F1 2023

 

 

 
Despite beating Lando Norris to McLaren’s first win since 2012 at Monza last year, Daniel Ricciardo’s time with the Woking outfit hasn’t lived up to expectations.Signed on a massive bumper deal as a replacement for Carlos Sainz, Ricciardo’s underperformance has led the announcement that he will leave McLaren before the F1 2023 season, opening up the driver market.Is Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 career over? | Formula 1 2022Video of Is Daniel Ricciardo's F1 career over? | Formula 1 20222023 F1 driver line-up: Who is signed up for next season and beyond?McLaren have agreed to pay off Ricciardo because he was contracted until the end of 2023 – an eye-watering $21 million (£13.5 million) with a year to go still on his contract. In terms of the key statistics, how bad has it been for Ricciardo in 2022 up against Norris?Ricciardo v Norris in 2022Race: 3-10Qualifying: 2-11Points: 19-76Podiums: 0-1Best finish: 6th – 3rdBest grid position: 6th – 4thRicciardo’s poor performance is costing McLaren in the constructors’ championship with Alpine currently fourth in the pecking order.Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso have consistently scored points this season, while McLaren are relying on Norris to carry the team.One glaring stat that shows how much Ricciardo is struggling this year is looking at qualifying sectors versus Norris.Related Domenicali: Female F1 driver in next five years ‘very unlikely’ Seidl accepts some blame for Ricciardo’s failed McLaren F1 stintData from Lights Out Blog show that in the 13 qualifying sessions this year, Ricciardo has only set a faster sector time than Norris on five occasions (34-5 in Norris’ favour).Comparatively, Alex Albon is 28-8 against Nicholas Latifi; Valtteri Bottas is 29-10 against Zhou Guanyu; Sebastian Vettel is 21-9 compared to Lance Stroll. Ricciardo is also reportedly the fifth-highest earner on the grid – a whopping £12.2 million per year.Compared to the rest of the grid, Ricciardo is on more money than Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc (£9.8m each) and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (£8.6m).Norris’ performances versus Ricciardo also earned him a sizable pay rise – making him the third behind Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen on £20 million per year.Ricciardo’s performances don’t warrant being one of the best paid drivers on the grid. No doubt that his likely replacement – Piastri – will be on significantly less for 2023.  

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