Daniel Ricciardo has reportedly been contacted by Haas over his availability for the 2023 season.
Ricciardo received the message from Haas team principal Guenther Steiner at the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix on July 31 ahead of the summer break, ESPN report.
Ricciardo is expected to leave McLaren, who he has represented since 2021, ahead of next season and has been the subject of silly season rumours which he is anticipated to address at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.
Haas’ F1 2023 driver line-up will include Kevin Magnussen who is contracted on a multi-year deal but Mick Schumacher’s current contract expires at the end of 2022, and his future is uncertain.
That is where Ricciardo may come in.
The veteran Australian has a contract with McLaren until the end of 2023 but the team have reportedly told him that they intend to replace him next year with Oscar Piastri.
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It is cheaper for McLaren to pay off Ricciardo and sign Piastri than to pay Ricciardo in 2023, it has been reported.
Alpine are also a serious option for Ricciardo.
He represented them when the team was known as Renault.
Ricciardo is currently paid £12.2m by McLaren this season – making him the fifth-highest earner on the grid. Schumacher is paid less than £1m this season so accommodating Ricciardo’s wages may be an issue for Haas.
As for Schumacher?
The son of the legend Michael Schumacher is in his second F1 season and came under criticism from Haas boss Steiner for the frequency of his crashes but has since improved to score points at the British and Austrian grands prix.
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The dwindling number of seats for the 2023 F1 driver line-up means that Haas are not yet prepared to commit to keeping Schumacher.
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