Jenson buttons Ricciardo’s plan as risky
FORMER world champion Jenson Button has cast doubt on whether Daniel Ricciardo will be able to return to the Formula One grid with a competitive team if he sits out 2023.
Doubling down on his concerns that Riccardo’s plans to take on a reserve driver role over a starting seat with a lower-ranked team were the wrong move, Button said the Australian risked being remembered only by his ontrack struggles of the past two years.
Riccardo, 33, appears set to sit out the 2023 F1 season with his options for a seat evaporating after he was ditched by McLaren for Australian young gun Oscar Piastri.
The eight-time Grand Prix winner has been linked to reserve driver roles at Mercedes and his former team Red Bull, having shown little interest in the remaining seat at Haas. But 2009 F1 world champion Button said Riccardo was wrongly dismissing the “better move” for his career.
“I guess he didn’t want to drop too far down the grid and work with a team that’s more towards the rear because it’s difficult for a driver coming from a team that is almost winning races, at times, to suddenly know you’re fighting for points,” Button told Sky Sports.
“It is tough. But I still think it would have been a better move for him. Go into a team, work hard, show people what you can do, in a car that maybe suits you a bit more, and then people forget what happened the year before.
“He has the talent, and in a car that suits him, he would show his skill and then he has the opportunity to race in a top team again. But sitting out? People just remember what happened last year.”