Daniel Ricciardo has signed with McLaren as their driver for the 2021 season thus replacing Carlos Sainz who is believed to be on the way to replace Sebastian Vettel who on Tuesday parted ways with Ferrari.
The driver market continues to shake up but the biggest drivers with contracts continue to make the news. It was public knowledge that Daniel Ricciardo’s contract with French team Renault was ending in 2020 and the Australian driver was looking to leave the team.
Daniel Ricciardo joins McLaren to replace Carlos Sainz
McLaren today confirmed that Carlos Sainz is leaving the Woking team, with Ferrari expected to announce the Spaniard as Vettel’s replacement later today, and following that switch McLaren have moved swiftly to slot Ricciardo into the seat Sainz is vacating.
The Australian is currently part-way through a two year deal with Renault after he left Red Bull at the end of 2018 to join the French manufacturer, but has now clearly decided McLaren are a better bet for his future, especially with Mercedes engines from next year.
McLaren have also confirmed that current driver Lando Norris will remain with the team in 2021, partnering Ricciardo.
McLaren boss Zak Brown has overseen a major reorganisation since taking over from former chief Ron Dennis, bringing in Andreas Seidl as team principal and James Key as Technical Director as they look to fight their way back to the front of the grid. Landing a highly-rated race winning driver in Ricciardo is another coup for Brown.
He said: “Signing Daniel is another step forward in our long-term plan and will bring an exciting new dimension to the team, alongside Lando. This is good news for our team, partners and of course our fans.
“I also want to pay tribute to Carlos for the excellent job he has been doing for McLaren in helping our performance recovery plan. He is a real team player and we wish him well for his future beyond McLaren.”
