Ricciardo under pressure as McLaren renew O’Ward’s contract

With results failing to materialise, Daniel Ricciardo’s position at McLaren has started to come under increased scrutiny.

The pressure on the Australian has started to increase further with the recent news that McLaren have renewed the contract of their F1 test driver Pato O’Ward.

Ricciardo joined McLaren at the start of 2021 but has continually struggled to get the results that would be expected of him. Ricciardo has scored 11 points in 2022 and has been outqualified by team-mate Lando Norris at each of the seven races so far this season, with Norris currently on 48 points. Ricciardo did manage to secure the team’s first win since 2012 when he triumphed at last season’s Italian Grand Prix.

O’Ward has been racing in IndyCar with Arrow McLaren SP since 2020 and has been putting in some impressive performances. He finished fourth in his first season with the team and third in 2021. He recently finished second at the famous Indy 500 and is currently third in the championship standings.

The contract extension for O’Ward until the end of 2025 shows McLaren’s commitment to the 23-year-old. The Mexican is known to be eyeing a seat in F1 and has previously been involved with testing for the team.

Although Riccardo is under contract through 2023, it remains to be seen whether McLaren will continue to wait for his performances to pick up.