"His form isn't great at the moment"- Haas doubtful of signing Daniel Ricciardo for 2023 F1 season

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner does not feel Daniel Ricciardo is in contention for a 2023 seat with his outfit. With Mick Schumacher's Haas contract expiring at the end of the season, the American outfit is currently looking for someone to partner with Kevin Magnussen.

Earlier this month, Ricciardo confirmed that he will be parting ways with McLaren at the end of 2022. The Australian, however, made no announcements regarding his plans for the future.

Meanwhile, when asked about the speculation surrounding Nico Hulkenberg's return to F1 with Haas in the future, Steiner revealed that he wants to take the least possible risk, which might involve going for an experienced driver. He, however, confessed that no experienced drivers are available in the market, except Daniel Ricciardo, who in his opinion is not in great form. In an interview with Speedweek, the Italian said:

“I’ve talked to most of the possible drivers, that’s my job too. Nothing concrete yet. In any case, we only want to take the smallest risk for the development of the team. You can take a big risk, which is great when it works, but bad when it doesn’t.”

When asked if this would involve signing up an experienced driver who can contribute to the technical aspect of the team, he said:

“It would. But there are none of those who are currently driving on the market. Except maybe for Danny (Daniel Ricciardo). His form isn’t great at the moment and we don’t know what he’s up to. Maybe he’ll sit out a year. As I said, I talk to everyone.”

Earlier, in an interview with Fox Sports, Daniel Ricciardo admitted that he would be okay with sitting it out in 2023 if he is unable to find the right match for him on the grid. The McLaren driver said:

“I’ve certainly accepted if I’m not to be on the grid next year, I’m okay with that. I’ve accepted I’m not going to do everything, or my [management] team’s not going to do everything, just to put me on the grid if it’s not right or it doesn’t make sense. Obviously this year’s been challenging and if I am on the grid, I want to know it’s [at] a place I can enjoy it and feel like I can thrive, an environment I feel I can thrive in. I don’t want to just jump into a car for the sake of it.”

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Alpine have "no reason to sign Daniel Ricciardo, says former F1 world champion

1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve claims that half of Daniel Ricciardo's career in the sport has been "bad," giving teams no incentive to sign the 33-year-old for the upcoming season.

As reported by The Mirror, the Canadian said:

“He’s done two awful years at Renault, two even worse years at McLaren, that’s four years and how long has he been in F1 total? Almost half his F1 career has been bad and that’s when he’s had experience, so there’s no reason, especially for a team he has already driven for.”

“It looks like the modern cars don’t suit his driving style because he was impressive at Red Bull, he did some amazing overtaking, he was ahead of Max [Verstappen] but Max was new to F1 and by the end of the season Max was starting to get the better of him and that’s when he switched.”

Daniel Ricciardo currently stands fourteenth in the drivers' standings with 19 points to his name.