Scuderia Ferrari has chosen Carlos Sainz for the 2021 and 2022 Formula One season, as the Italian side will not continue alongside Sebastian Vettel at the end of the current season. Daniel Ricciardo was another potential replacement for the German driver, but eventually Carlos Sainz Jr. was signed by the Italian side and when the music stopped, Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo was set to take the 25-year-old Spaniard’s seat at McLaren in 2021.
In an interview with CNN Sport’s Amanda Davies, Daniel Ricciardo admitted that he has been having ongoing talks with Ferrari up until the decision to join McLaren. Throughout his career the 30-year-old Australian has continually been linked with a move to the Italian team.
“There have been discussions already from a few years back. And that continued all the way through to now,” said Ricciardo. “So yeah, I won’t deny that. But obviously it’s never really come to fruition.” – he explains.
Both of Daniel Ricciardo’s parents are of Italian descent. His father was born in Italy and his Australian mother was born to Italian parents. But he’s not sure why he has never joined the Maranello-based team: “I don’t know actually and I’ve never really chose to dive too deep into it. Everyone says it would be a good fit, obviously, with my name and all the background stuff, but yeah, I try not to get emotionally caught up in any kind of situation. I see how Carlos is a fit for the team. So I don’t really look at it like ‘why not me?’ I just look at it: Yeah, Carlos had a very strong 2019. Yeah, he’s a bit of hot property right now, and I guess it’s a good fit for where they are at.” – he added.
Before joining Renault, Daniel Ricciardo spent six years with Red Bull, including one season in 2014 with Sebastian Vettel. Considering the series of incidents between Vettel and Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc last season, Ricciardo says he wasn’t surprised the four-time world champion parted ways with the Italian team: “I don’t want to say the writing was on the wall, but a few of those incidents made this news slightly less traumatic.” – he explained.
Daniel Ricciardo not only thinks the 32-year-old German wants to continue in the sport but also hopes he does: “If I know him well enough, I believe he’s still hungry and competitive enough to want to continue Also, because he’s still older than me. So it makes me not the oldest guy. I like Seb. Obviously, I had him as a teammate, but as a competitor he brings something to our sport. He’s one of the very few if not the only one that isn’t active on social media, and he’s one of the most successful people ever in our sport, yet he’s one of the most private. And even that in itself brings a lot of mystery behind him.” – the Australian concluded.
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