Formula 1: 5 possible Ferrari drivers for 2021
By Asher Fair
Daniel Ricciardo
With the Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari rumors having calmed down quite a bit with the six-time world champion having been tipped to return to Mercedes for what would be a ninth season with the team in 2021, with Charles Leclerc having signed with Ferrari through the 2024 season and with Max Verstappen having signed with Red Bull Racing through the 2023 season, Daniel Ricciardo has found himself as arguably the hottest pending free agent once again.
Driving for Red Bull Racing in 2018, Ricciardo was set to become a free agent at the end of the season, and he had been rumored to join either Mercedes or Ferrari. Instead, he left the “Big 3” completely and made the shocking decision to join Renault on a two-year deal starting in 2019.
Ricciardo remains committed to making it work with the French marque after a disappointing first season with the team in 2019 that saw him fail to finish on the podium and saw Renault fall behind customer team McLaren in the constructor standings following a “best of the rest” fourth place finish in the 2018 season.
However, Renault may not be committed to him. Team managing director Cyril Abiteboul stated last season after the team signed Esteban Ocon to replace Nico Hulkenberg for the 2020 season that they would likely to pair Ocon with a younger teammate beginning in the 2021 season.
Ricciardo is 30 years old, and his current salary is the third highest in the sport. Is it really worth it for Renault to pay him that much for him to compete in the mid-pack for a team with an upside of not much more than fourth or fifth place in the constructor standings?
With a Ferrari seat potentially open, don’t rule out him making the move many expected him to make two years ago.