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Daniel Ricciardo has confirmed he will not be on the Formula 1 grid next season.
His admission comes following news that Pierre Gasly will join Alpine and Nyck de Vries will take the Frenchman’s place at Scuderia AlphaTauri.
Only Haas and Williams are still to confirm their driver pairings for next season, though Ricciardo has not been linked with either drive.
“To be honest, I mean the Gasly news, I was aware,” Ricciardo confessed.
“I knew they were talking for a while, and I knew they were very interested in Pierre.
“So I would say I was prepared for that, and no surprise.
“So we’re trying to, let’s say, navigate our way around that and figure out what was next.
“But I think the reality is now I won’t be on the grid in ’23.
“I think it’s now just trying to set up for ’24. I think that there could be some better opportunities then, so that’s really what all this confirms and now where the sights are set.”
Ricciardo has been linked with a potential Reserve Driver role at Mercedes, with sources revealing to Speedcafe.com that the Australian is in discussions with a “top team.”
The 33-year-old remains committed to Formula 1 and is, for the moment, unwilling to compromise on that.
“Certainly the plan is still to be involved in F1,” he confirmed.
“It’s kind of like just hitting pause for a little bit as I see it as far as my F1 career goes.
“So it’s like the full intention is for ’24 and, sure it could open up opportunities to maybe do some of that stuff [NASCAR] but I if I feel it’s going to like deviate away from my target then I would still say it’s not really where I’m looking.
“As fun or cool as it sounds to compete in something else, truth is, mentally I’m not there yet.
“I’m still so engaged in this and I think a bit of time off, or out of a seat, will probably do me good.
“So I would probably use that as opposed to like trying to jump in something else and stay busy in a different category.
“I still say pretty convincingly it wouldn’t happen anywhere else.”
