Daniel Ricciardo not ‘too proud’ for F1 reserve driver role in 2023

The popular Australian does not yet have a seat for next season after being dropped by McLaren

Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he would be open to taking on a role as a reserve driver next season if it meant he could stay in Formula One.

The Australian is yet to land a seat for next season after being dropped by McLaren in favour of Oscar Piastri and he is currently weighing up his options.

While Ricciardo has ruled out moving to another motorsport series such as IndyCar, the 33-year-old said he is open to “any scenario”, including taking a one-year sabbatical.

But when asked about taking up a position as reserve driver at one of Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes or their affiliated teams, Ricciardo said he would not be “too proud” to rule it out.

“I think there’s pros and cons with all of it,” he said. “There’s pros with having some time off as well, currently the 18 months I’ve had has been more challenging than not so maybe some time away would be good.

“But then also staying active is good. That’s why I kind of want to hear everything. Even if it’s a reserve, I don’t want to be too proud to say I’m too good for that.

“I just want to hear everything and see what makes sense. It could be something that sets me up better for the future and next year may be one of those years where I need a bit of patience.”

Ricciardo was seemingly overheard telling Sergio Perez of his plans, telling the Red Bull driver that he could “take year off and come back in 2024” at the Dutch Grand Prix this past weekend.

Ricciardo’s options for a competitive seat next season are somewhat limited. AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly is the frontrunner to land the open Alpine seat alongside Esteban Ocon, with Haas’ Mick Schumacher also linked.