"It’s like 2014"- Daniel Ricciardo takes a jibe at FIA over race delays in F1 due to rain

Daniel Ricciardo felt there could have been a better approach to the fact that it was known beforehand that rain was forecast for the 2022 Japanese GP. The Australian cited what happened in the 2014 F1 season when a similar delay was caused by rain disrupting things.

When questioned by Motorsport.com about fans being disappointed by the rain delays, Daniel Ricciardo said:

"We want to race. Where I wish we could do better is… I know it’s easy saying it now, but we knew this rain was going to come. It’s like 2014. Even if you bring it forward an hour, maybe we gain 20 laps at the beginning and you can still make a race of it.”

Ricciardo revealed that he went through a varied range of emotions on the first lap of the race, saying:

“Part of me was scared, part of me enjoyed it. It was nice to gain a few spots. As soon as we got into Turn 1, I was like, 'Ah wow, there’s too much water.' The visibility was so bad. I feel like the onboard cameras did it justice. But then I was happy to get the race going again."

Daniel Ricciardo will not be part of McLaren for the 2023 F1 season. McLaren CEO Zak Brown was one of the men who lured Ricciardo to the team and had a great relationship with the driver. The team and driver shared a special moment with a 1-2 finish at Monza last season and hence Zak Brown revealed that letting Ricciardo go was very tough.

Speaking to Kayo Sports about how all of this transpired, Brown said:

“Ultimately we weren’t getting the results that we needed and we’re a year-and-a-half into this. We’ve all tried extremely hard, we love Daniel, he’s great to work with and continues to be great to work with. But we’re in the results business and the results weren’t coming and we felt we tried everything."

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McLaren wanted to continue their relationship with Daniel Ricciardo

The McLaren boss also revealed that Daniel Ricciardo was offered a seat with the team's IndyCar and Formula E outfit, but the Australian wanted to continue in F1. He said:

"I tried to get Daniel before he went to Renault, so this was years in the making. I’m a huge Daniel fan. I’m still a huge Daniel fan and that’ll never change.”

Daniel Ricciardo has revealed that he will not be part of the 2023 F1 grid and will be taking a sabbatical next season. The driver has been part of the F1 grid since 2011, which will certainly make his absence a noteworthy one.