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Former McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo recently shared a picture with IndyCar star Scott McLaughlin, sending the rumour mill into overdrive.
The Australian will not be racing in F1 this season, as he was dropped by McLaren last year. Instead of going to a lesser team like Haas, the Australian decided to take a sabbatical this season and be the reserve driver for Red Bull.
Ricciardo is returning to Red Bull after a five years after leaving them for Renault at the end of the 2018 season. The picture of the Australian was shared by McLaughlin on social media with the caption:
"Nice to catch up with @danielricciardo"
Here are some of reactions from fans:
"It’s happening Danny Ric to IndyCar confirmed."
"Gimme Danny Rics in a Mighty Car Mods / Shannons Supercar."
"@smclaughlin93 Would be an amazing Bus Bros guest. Just the most positive guy in racing"
"Convince him to do a few @IndyCar races. I wanna see a shoey! #IndyCar #shoey"
"I've been trying since he was in Torro Rosso just for an autograph, let alone meeting him. That's awesome Scott, Congrats. He's a pretty cool guy."
"Oh no! 2 Aussies have congregated. Everybody hide your beer."
"I know we’ll see all these qrts somewhere sometime in an F1 mean tweets segment, and I'm here for it"
Daniel Ricciardo's struggles could prove to be lessons for Oscar Piastri
The new McLaren team principal Andrea Stella feels Daniel Ricciardo's struggles with the team in the last two years could prove to be a lesson for the young Oscar Piastri. One of the major reasons behind Ricciardo's departure from McLaren was his inability to replicate his usual level of performance with the team.
Stella feels that the experience gained while working with Ricciardo would make McLaren more prepared if Piastri faces such issues. He said:
"He’s certainly very talented, and we want him to use his references. References from the car, references from even what we learned with Daniel, and so on. We are quite adamant that he will have enough talent, process (and) intelligence to find his own way, taking advantage of these references."
Daniel Ricciardo will be around the F1 paddock this year as the reserve driver. It remains to be seen if he gets the opportunity to drive the car but it does look highly likely that he would be used more for marketing commitments by the team.
