Formula 1 driver change creates unexpected obstacle

With Daniel Ricciardo set to replace Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri for the remainder of the 2023 Formula 1 season, ESPN needs to make an adjustment.

Before the 2023 Formula 1 season, ESPN introduced a new alternate telecast for three races featuring Daniel Ricciardo, actor/comedian Will Arnett, and different special guests for each Grand Prix.

Ricciardo had competed in Formula 1 from 2011 to 2022 before losing his ride with McLaren following the 2022 season. While he signed with Red Bull, where he competed from 2014 to 2018, as their third driver, that commitment left him largely available on race day.

The telecast, dubbed The Grandstand with Daniel Ricciardo and Will Arnett, is similar to Monday Night Football’s Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli “ManningCast” which debuted in 2021.

The Grandstand with Daniel Ricciardo and Will Arnett, which was produced by ESPN in collaboration with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, debuted in last month’s Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Guests included Patrick Dempsey, Marshawn Lynch, and Josh Allen.

But ESPN have now been thrown an unexpected obstacle regarding this telecast for its two remaining Formula 1 races on this year’s schedule.

Ricciardo has been called upon by Red Bull sister team AlphaTauri to replace struggling rookie Nyck de Vries for the remainder of the 2023 season, meaning that he will obviously not be able to co-host The Grandstand with Daniel Ricciardo and Will Arnett telecast during the remaining two races on its 2023 schedule.

Those two races are the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 22, and the Las Vegas Grand Prix at the brand-new Las Vegas Strip Circuit on Saturday, November 18 (Sunday, November 19 in ET).

In a release, ESPN congratulated Ricciardo while indicating that they plan to make the most of the three-plus months between now and the United States Grand Prix to determine the future of The Grandstand with Daniel Ricciardo and Will Arnett program.

"“Congratulations to Daniel. We heard this news today when everyone else did. We have more than three months until the next edition of ‘The Grandstand‘ at the United States Grand Prix in Austin so we’ll take our time and figure out the next steps.”"

Ricciardo is set to make his first start of the 2023 Formula 1 season in the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring on Sunday, July 23. ESPN is set to broadcast the race live beginning at 8:55 a.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV and don’t miss it!