Daniel Ricciardo looks set to miss out on one of his biggest Formula 1 wishes after admitting he will most likely drop off the grid next season.
The Aussie is due to become a free agent at the end of the year after McLaren decided to cancel his contract a year early. It was expected someone with his ability and experience would have no trouble finding a new home, but that has not been the case.
Instead, seats have been filling up around him as he weighs up his options. And after Alpine announced their impending signing of Pierre Gasly and AlphaTauri said they would replace him with Nyck de Vries, the only seats yet to be confirmed are at Williams and Haas.
It seems Ricciardo is not keen on either of them, as he told reporters: "I think the reality is now I won’t be on the grid in 2023. I think it's now just trying to set up for 2024. I think there could be some better opportunities then. So that's really what all this confirms, and now where the sights are set."
Instead of a race seat, he appears set to join Mercedes as a reserve – the role vacated by de Vries as he joins his new team. But unless one of Lewis Hamilton or George Russell is forced to miss a session for whatever reason, he will not be racing next year when his F1 dream becomes a reality.
Ricciardo has long spoken of his desire to see F1 make its way to Las Vegas. And that will happen for the first time in his career next year, with a street race along the famous Strip planned as the penultimate round of the 2023 championship.
Back in 2017, at a press conference ahead of that year's Australian Grand Prix, Ricciardo was asked what his wish would be from Liberty Media, who had just completed their purchase of F1. He did not hesitate in answering: "Race in Vegas," but he is almost certain to miss the first trip to Nevada.
And he may never experience it as a driver at all. He has not given up on his F1 career – the Aussie made it clear he is hoping to have race seat options in 2024 – but it can be difficult for those who fall off the grid to get back on it again.
There are examples of it happening – Alex Albon is the most recent and is performing well at Williams, while Nico Hulkenberg is in the running to join Haas next year despite not holding a race seat since 2019. But aged 33, Ricciardo will be aware that he risks ending his F1 career prematurely by preferring to drop out of the sport instead of gunning for one of the remaining 2023 seats.
