BREAKING:F1 boss reveals Daniel Ricciardo replacement deadline for… read more
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has recently opened up about the team’s decision to replace Daniel Ricciardo with Oscar Piastri, revealing that Ricciardo had been given a clear performance deadline of the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix. Although Ricciardo was not officially dropped from the team until the end of the 2022 season, Brown admitted that McLaren had internally marked Monaco as the point by which Ricciardo needed to show significant improvement to secure his future with the team.
Ricciardo, who joined McLaren in 2021, struggled to consistently deliver the performances expected of him. Despite a standout victory at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, his overall results did not compare favorably with those of teammate Lando Norris, who was regularly outperforming him. In the 2022 season, Norris managed to score points in 14 races, while Ricciardo only finished in the points five times.
Brown emphasized that McLaren maintained transparency with Ricciardo about his standing in the team. “We were very transparent with Daniel,” he said in an interview with Mail Sport. “We loosely gave him until Monaco [2022] to prove himself. It didn’t work out and Oscar came high in our thoughts.”
The decision to consider Oscar Piastri as a potential replacement wasn’t made lightly. Piastri was already serving as McLaren’s reserve driver and had a strong reputation in the junior racing categories, having won championships in his debut years. McLaren also had an existing relationship with Piastri’s manager, former F1 driver Mark Webber, which helped facilitate discussions.
Brown noted that while Ricciardo was originally viewed as a safe bet given his experience and race wins, his inability to adapt to the McLaren car and perform consistently led the team to reconsider. “Daniel, by the way, was thought not to be a risk but how did that turn out, unfortunately, for whatever reason?” Brown remarked. Meanwhile, with Norris performing at a high level, McLaren felt confident enough to take a calculated risk by bringing in another young, promising driver.
That decision has since been validated by Piastri’s remarkable performance. Now in 2025, Piastri has already accumulated six Grand Prix victories and is just three wins away from matching Ricciardo’s career tally of eight. He currently leads the Drivers’ Championship heading into the Imola Grand Prix, having secured consecutive wins in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia (Jeddah), and Miami. His recent success, including a competitive drive against reigning champion Max Verstappen, has highlighted his exceptional racecraft and potential to become one of the top drivers in Formula 1.
Ultimately, Brown’s comments shed light on McLaren’s strategy and the rationale behind a difficult decision that is now paying off with Piastri’s rapid rise.
