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Daniel Ricciardo has declared that he is only interested in racing in Formula 1, despite McLaren boss Zak Brown opening the door for a switch to IndyCar or Formula E.
The two parties have agreed to terminate their contract effective the end of the current F1 season, one year before the deal was set to run out.
Ricciardo therefore faces an uncertain future, with few drives still left unfilled for 2023, although there are vacancies at Alpine, Haas, and Williams.
However, McLaren also joins Formula E from next season, and is expanding to three full-time entries in IndyCar, with Brown saying he would “welcome” an approach from his outgoing F1 driver about switching to one of those programmes.
Ricciardo has now stated that is not something that interests him, at least at this point in time.
Instead, the Australian would rather take a sabbatical from F1 in the hope of getting back into a seat in 2024.
On the potential for a sabbatical, he said, “Yes, if it made sense.
“It’s the only racing I’m interested in at this stage of my career; like, F1 is what I love, and it’s where I see myself if I if I’m doing any racing.
“But if, let’s say, the stars don’t align, and it doesn’t make perfect sense next year, and if it means taking that time off to kind of reset or re-evaluate, then if that’s the right thing to do, then I’m willing to.”
Ricciardo fronted the media for the first time on the eve of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, the championship’s return from its summer break.
He reiterated that his fate is “not the nicest feeling” but remains proud of his efforts with the Woking squad, at which he arrived in 2021 and would win that year’s Italian Grand Prix.
“It’s obviously not the nicest feeling, but I look back on it and I can hold my head high in terms of applying myself and trying to make it work,” said the eight-time grand prix winner.
“Like, [I was] trying to put everything in and sometimes you just have to accept that, okay, I tried it, and it didn’t necessarily work out.
“But from that point of view, I don’t look back in terms of ‘Man, yeah, I was slacking off, that’s why I earned this or whatever.’
“It’s just one of those things.
“I’m proud of the way we tried to make it happen and persist through it, but some things maybe you just say that they’re not meant to be.”
Countryman Oscar Piastri is expected to replace Ricciardo, although that much has not yet been confirmed.
