3 reasons why Alpine should not sign Daniel Ricciardo

McLaren have reportedly informed Daniel Ricciardo that they intend to replace him with Oscar Piastri in the 2023 F1 season.

F1 fans may be looking at a swap between the two teams, with Piastri moving from Alpine to McLaren and Ricciardo doing the opposite.

There have even been claims that Ricciardo has been in contact with Alpine even before all of this happened and is angling towards a move to the French squad. If that is the case, the team will be reunited with the driver who left them at the end of 2020.

Here's a look at some of the reasons why Alpine should not sign Daniel Ricciardo for the second seat.

Note: This article reflects the opinions of the writer

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#1 The lack of loyalty shown by Daniel Ricciardo in the 2020 F1 season

Daniel Ricciardo left Alpine (formerly known as Renault) at the end of the 2020 F1 season. When it came to the teams involved, the move was not terrible. After all, McLaren were the better team at the time. What was bad, however, was the timing of the move.

Ricciardo joined Alpine in 2019 and spent one season with the team. Due to the pandemic-induced delay, the Australian announced his move to McLaren even before the 2020 season began.

The fact that he didn't even give Alpine enough time to prove themselves was something that did not go down well with the management.

Should a driver be welcomed back to a team if he hasn't shown loyalty to them before? Many would argue this shouldn't be the case.

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#2 Daniel Ricciardo's lack of form at McLaren

Car characteristics or not, it's fair to say that Daniel Ricciardo's run at McLaren has been rather underwhelming.

Other than his performance in the 2021 F1 Italian GP, where McLaren scored their first win in close to a decade, the Australian has been more or less overshadowed by his teammate Lando Norris.

Ever since he joined the McLaren squad at the start of the 2021 F1 season, Ricciardo has not performed at the level he's known for. He has found it hard to adapt his driving style to the nuances of the Woking-based team's new car.

Having said that, how can anyone be sure that Ricciardo will regain his form as soon as he joins Alpine? What makes anyone confident that the car has more to do with the loss in form than Ricciardo himself?

The reality of the situation is that there are question marks over Ricciardo's upper bound limit at this stage. It doesn't make sense for a team like Alpine, which has two drivers performing admirably, to gamble on such a wildcard.

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#3 A French race-winning driver is available

There is no doubt that Daniel Ricciardo is a great driver. Having said that, Alpine will be closely monitoring Pierre Gasly.

Gasly's career has been a bit up and down ever since the ill-timed promotion to Red Bull derailed his future prospects with the team. Despite all of that, the driver has impressed at AlphaTauri, picking up multiple podium positions and even a surprise win at Monza in the 2020 F1 season.

Gasly is a proven talent. He's fast, consistent, and can be an asset to any top team. Most importantly, he's not low on confidence. He is raring to go and is looking desperately for an opportunity up the grid.

While Alpine already have a French driver in Esteban Ocon, having two race-winning French drivers would be a dream scenario for the team.

While Ricciardo is good, he is a bit of a wildcard at the moment. Gasly, on the other hand, is a strong, reliable and attractive option.