user icon
icon
link-icon
<< Return to the news list
McLaren was "pretty close" to signing Ricciardo

McLaren was "pretty close" to signing Ricciardo

  • Published on 03 Aug 2018 17:34
  • comments 10
  • By: Fergal Walsh

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has revealed that he was "pretty close" to signing Daniel Ricciardo for the 2019 season. On Friday, Renault announced that the Australian would be joining the French team, ending his long run within the Red Bull programme.

McLaren's line-up for next year is uncertain, with the seats of both Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne in doubt. Talking to RACER, Brown said that a few meetings had been held in which a deal was discussed, but the American thinks McLaren's current poor form swung in Renault's favour.

"We had a couple of meetings and we are big fans of Daniel,” Brown said. “I think he’s a great guy, I think he’s a great race car driver. How close we came to getting him, I think only Daniel knows the answer to that question. Had we been running more competitively I think that would have increased our odds.

"I think he had a strong desire to leave and I think it was probably pretty close between us and Renault, but ultimately Daniel would be best to tell you how close. But he was certainly someone that we rate very highly and think he’s a great race car driver and a great guy."

When asked if Alonso could leave McLaren to take Ricciardo's spot at Red Bull, Brown replied: "I think it’s thrown a spanner in the works for some other teams but we’ve got a plan which we are executing against which Ricciardo’s move doesn’t impact.

"Red Bull is a great racing team but I think Fernando has got what he wants to do in the back of his mind. Never say never, but I don’t think it changes anything in Fernando’s world."

 

Fergal Walsh

ALTIJD DAT GEDOE

Posts: 66

When hell freezes over...

  • 1
  • Aug 4 2018 - 11:20
F1 News Fernando Alonso Daniel Ricciardo Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Renault

Replies (10)

Login to reply
  • calle.itw

    Posts: 8,527

    Oh thats cute. :3

    • + 0
    • Aug 3 2018 - 20:03
  • ALTIJD DAT GEDOE

    Posts: 66

    I think only 'also rans' like Sainz and Grosjean will be available for Mclaren these days. Drivers for whom McLaren is the last lifebuoy in Formula One. Personally I'd prefer Sainz over Grosjean.

    • + 0
    • Aug 3 2018 - 20:41
  • ajpennypacker

    Posts: 2,475

    I would love Ricciardo at Mclaren, but not yet. It would have soured everything. Once McLaren has a competitive car again they will be able to get whoever they want as they did in the past.

    • + 0
    • Aug 3 2018 - 22:07
  • boudy

    Posts: 1,168

    McLaren against the factory team ; no way he would have been going there unless an serious amount of $$$ was offered. McLaren will not recover until Alonso leaves the team. History proves this point.

    • + 0
    • Aug 3 2018 - 23:51
    • calle.itw

      Posts: 8,527

      And even then he'd probably not accept. There is no reason for such a competitive driver to go to McLaren.

      • + 0
      • Aug 4 2018 - 10:22
    • Hepp

      Posts: 200

      @CALLE , I see Gasly to RBR, Saintz and Alonso for 2019, Saintz and Norris for 2020 @ McL. Leclerc and Latifi to Haas, KMag and Gro out.

      • + 0
      • Aug 4 2018 - 11:59
    • calle.itw

      Posts: 8,527

      @HEPP thats interesting, however Im not sure McLiaren want to ditch Stoffel. Im also not convinced that they want a double Spanish lineup due to marketing and sponsor reasons. But I could absolutely see Gasly in the Red Bull for 2019 if Sainz doesnt get the seat. I also expect KMag to stay, he has done a good job and HAAS seem pleased with him. If Leclerc doesnt move to Ferrari, I think he will stay at Sauber. Grosjean on the other hand, I think could be out. Maybe he'll be replaced by Giovinazzi or Latifi? And then maybe Norris to STR as Gasly's replacement if Gasly moves to RB.

      • + 0
      • Aug 4 2018 - 13:54
  • michielhimself

    Posts: 132

    He pushed an actual contract with his own signature already on it into Ricciardo's face while RIC was entering the boy's room? I'm pretty sure that paper came in handy for Ricciardo ...

    • + 1
    • Aug 4 2018 - 12:12
  • blade

    Posts: 341

    Don't see it as a close call - we need DR to confirm or deny this one, he will have listened as McLaren are a great team - but the lure of a full works no.1 driver seat would have swung it, even if more money offered at MCL. Sainz to MCL or RBR now? Not sure he's done enough to fill D Ric's shoes though

    • + 0
    • Aug 4 2018 - 21:52

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2023

Pos
Team
Points
1
Red Bull Racing
860
2
Mercedes
409
3
Ferrari
406
4
McLaren
302
5
Aston Martin
280
6
Alpine F1
120
7
Williams
28
8
Alpha Tauri
25
9
Alfa Romeo Racing
16
10
Haas F1
12
Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2 2024
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
7 - Mar 9 2024
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24 2024
Australia
Albert Park
5 - Apr 7 2024
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
19 - Apr 21 2024
China
Shanghai International Circuit
3 - May 5 2024
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19 2024
Italy
Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
24 - May 26 2024
Monaco
Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9 2024
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
21 - Jun 23 2024
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
28 - Jun 30 2024
Austria
Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7 2024
United Kingdom
Silverstone
19 - Jul 21 2024
Hungary
Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28 2024
Belgium
Spa-Francorchamps
23 - Aug 25 2024
Netherlands
Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1 2024
Italy
Monza
13 - Sep 15 2024
Azerbaijan
Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22 2024
Singapore
Marina Bay Street Circuit
18 - Oct 20 2024
United States of America
Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27 2024
Mexico
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
1 - Nov 3 2024
Brazil
Interlagos
22 - Nov 24 2024
United States of America
Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1 2024
Qatar
Losail International Circuit
6 - Dec 8 2024
United Arab Emirates
Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
-
Bahrain Bahrain International Circuit
29 - Mar 2 2024
Bahrain Bahrain International Circuit
7 - Mar 9 2024
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24 2024
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7 2024
Japan Circuit Suzuka
19 - Apr 21 2024
China Shanghai International Circuit
3 - May 5 2024
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19 2024
Italy Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
24 - May 26 2024
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9 2024
Canada Gilles Villeneuve
21 - Jun 23 2024
Spain Circuit de Catalunya
28 - Jun 30 2024
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7 2024
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21 2024
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28 2024
Belgium Spa-Francorchamps
23 - Aug 25 2024
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1 2024
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15 2024
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22 2024
Singapore Marina Bay Street Circuit
18 - Oct 20 2024
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27 2024
Mexico Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
1 - Nov 3 2024
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24 2024
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1 2024
Qatar Losail International Circuit
6 - Dec 8 2024
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

ES Fernando Alonso 14
  • Country Spain
  • Date of b. Jul 29 1981 (44)
  • Place of b. Oviedo, Spain
  • Weight 68 kg
  • Length 1.71 m
Show full profile

Team profile

McLaren
McLaren
Show full profile
show sidebar

Total queries: 4
Total time: 0.62968492507935
timesincestartcallerannotatebtdesc
0.000508
instantiate query log (0Q - total module time: 0.00062299s)
""
0.001137
boot (0Q - total module time: 0.00010991s)
""
0.001250
translation-init (1Q - total module time: 0.00097394s)
""
0.000288960.001923/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/index.php/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/dbal/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Statement.php:189(stopQuery)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Repository/Redirect.php:105(execute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Entities/Redirect.php:112(findByOrigin)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/Redirects.php:108(getRedirectOrFalse)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Router.php:115(checkForDBRedirects)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/website.php:260(execute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/index.php:11(require_once)
SELECT redirects.id, redirects.origin, redirects.referer FROM redirects WHERE redirects.origin = :origin ORDER BY id 
{"origin":"\/en\/news\/f1\/240224\/mclaren-was-pretty-close-to-signing-ricciardo"}
0.002227
controller::news/f1/240224/mclaren-was-pretty-close-to-signing-ricciardo (2Q - total module time: 0.10580993s)
""
0.007407190.002921/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/dbal/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Statement.php:189(stopQuery)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Repository/Article.php:389(execute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:127(findNextArticle)
{"function":"F1T\\Controllers\\{closure}","class":"F1T\\Controllers\\News","object":{"current_page":"news"},"type":"->","args":[]}
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/Cache.php:144(call_user_func)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:158(lazyFetch)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:47(action_Index)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Router.php:269(dispatch)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Router.php:195(_load)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/website.php:260(execute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/index.php:11(require_once)
SELECT Articles.ArticleId AS ArticleId, Articles.RewriteUrl AS RewriteUrl, Articles.ArticleType as ArticleType, Articles.Category as Category, Articles.cntnlang AS cntnlang, RacingSeries.RewriteUrl AS RacingSeriesRewriteUrl FROM Articles INNER JOIN RacingSeries ON Articles.RacingSerieId = RacingSeries.RacingSerieId WHERE Articles.cntnlang = :siteLang AND Articles.SiteId = :siteId AND Articles.Activated = 1 AND Articles.PublishDate < :publishDate AND Articles.ArticleType IN (:param0, :param1, :param2) AND Articles.ArticleId > :articleId ORDER BY Articles.ArticleId ASC LIMIT 1
{"siteLang":"en","siteId":"1","publishDate":"2025-12-18 05:20:00","articleId":240224,":param0":"Nieuws",":param1":"LiveRaceReport",":param2":"Liveblog"}
0.069659950.010361/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/dbal/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Statement.php:189(stopQuery)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Repository/Article.php:318(execute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:128(findPrevArticle)
{"function":"F1T\\Controllers\\{closure}","class":"F1T\\Controllers\\News","object":{"current_page":"news"},"type":"->","args":[]}
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/Cache.php:144(call_user_func)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:158(lazyFetch)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:47(action_Index)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Router.php:269(dispatch)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Router.php:195(_load)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/website.php:260(execute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/index.php:11(require_once)
SELECT Articles.ArticleId AS ArticleId, Articles.RewriteUrl AS RewriteUrl, Articles.ArticleType as ArticleType, Articles.Category as Category, Articles.cntnlang AS cntnlang, RacingSeries.RewriteUrl AS RacingSeriesRewriteUrl FROM Articles INNER JOIN RacingSeries ON Articles.RacingSerieId = RacingSeries.RacingSerieId WHERE Articles.cntnlang = :siteLang AND Articles.SiteId = :siteId AND Articles.Activated = 1 AND Articles.PublishDate < :publishDate AND Articles.ArticleType IN (:param0, :param1, :param2) AND Articles.ArticleId < :articleId ORDER BY Articles.ArticleId DESC LIMIT 1
{"siteLang":"en","siteId":"1","publishDate":"2025-12-18 05:20:00","articleId":240224,":param0":"Nieuws",":param1":"LiveRaceReport",":param2":"Liveblog"}
0.108040 cacheAble: yes
module:News\Result (0Q - total module time: 0.00045395s)
""
0.108496 cacheAble: yes
module:News\Photos (0Q - total module time: 0.00011516s)
""
0.108614 cacheAble: yes
module:News\Trending (0Q - total module time: 0.00010896s)
""
0.108725 cacheAble: yes
module:News\Reply (1Q - total module time: 0.51682591s)
""
0.508860830.109250/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Repository/CommentVotes.php/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/dbal/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Connection.php:1323(stopQuery)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/orm/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Query/Exec/SingleSelectExecutor.php:31(executeQuery)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/orm/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Query.php:325(execute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/orm/lib/Doctrine/ORM/AbstractQuery.php:1212(_doExecute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/orm/lib/Doctrine/ORM/AbstractQuery.php:1166(executeIgnoreQueryCache)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/orm/lib/Doctrine/ORM/AbstractQuery.php:901(execute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Repository/CommentVotes.php:192(getResult)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/CommentVotesManager.php:46(getCommentVotesByVoteIp)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Modules/News/Reply.php:101(getCommentVotesByIP)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/ModuleBase.php:115(internalRender)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/ModuleBase.php:89(captureOutput)
{"function":"F1T\\{closure}","class":"F1T\\ModuleBase","object":{"_amp":false},"type":"->","args":[]}
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/Cache.php:144(call_user_func)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/ModuleBase.php:92(lazyFetch)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/ViewRenderer/TwigExtensions/ModuleRenderer.php:35(fetch)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php(418) : eval()'d code:549(renderModule)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:182(block_mainContent)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php(418) : eval()'d code:62(displayBlock)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:182(block_content)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php(418) : eval()'d code:715(displayBlock)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:405(doDisplay)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:378(displayWithErrorHandling)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php(418) : eval()'d code:45(display)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:405(doDisplay)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:378(displayWithErrorHandling)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php(418) : eval()'d code:46(display)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:405(doDisplay)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:378(displayWithErrorHandling)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:390(display)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/TemplateWrapper.php:45(render)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php:318(render)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/ViewRenderer/TwigRenderer.php:115(render)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/ViewTrait.php:98(render)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/ViewTrait.php:79(renderViewFile)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/website.php:261(render)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/index.php:11(require_once)
SELECT c0_.CommentId AS CommentId_0, c1_.Vote AS Vote_1 FROM Comments c0_ INNER JOIN CommentVotes c1_ ON (c1_.CommentId = c0_.CommentId) WHERE c0_.ArticleId = ? AND c1_.VoteIp = ?
[240224,"216.73.216.116"]
0.625555 cacheAble: no
module:Sidebar (0Q - total module time: 0.00037599s)
""
0.625934
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00001311s)
""
0.625948
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::gpschedule (0Q - total module time: 0.00000191s)
""
0.625951 cacheAble: yes
module:GpSchedule (0Q - total module time: 0.00012088s)
""
0.626074
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::results (0Q - total module time: 0.00000405s)
""
0.626080 cacheAble: yes
module:Results (0Q - total module time: 0.00008392s)
""
0.626166
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::testcalendar (0Q - total module time: 0.00000310s)
""
0.626169 cacheAble: yes
module:TestCalendar (0Q - total module time: 0.00010514s)
""
0.626278
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00000501s)
""
0.626283
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00000215s)
""
0.626286
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::relatednews (0Q - total module time: 0.00000191s)
""
0.626289 cacheAble: yes
module:RelatedNews (0Q - total module time: 0.00009298s)
""
0.626384
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::whoischatting (0Q - total module time: 0.00000501s)
""
0.626389
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00000191s)
""
0.626392
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::poll (0Q - total module time: 0.00000119s)
""
0.626394 cacheAble: no
module:Poll (0Q - total module time: 0.00157785s)
""
0.627974
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00000501s)
""
0.627979
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00000191s)
""
0.627981
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::gpcalendar (0Q - total module time: 0.00000215s)
""
0.627984 cacheAble: yes
module:GpCalendar (0Q - total module time: 0.00013804s)
""
0.628124
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::driver_Info (0Q - total module time: 0.00000405s)
""
0.628129 cacheAble: yes
module:Driver\Info (0Q - total module time: 0.00015998s)
""
0.628292
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::team_Info (0Q - total module time: 0.00000381s)
""
0.628297 cacheAble: yes
module:Team\Info (0Q - total module time: 0.00047088s)
""
0.628771
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::linkedKeywords (0Q - total module time: 0.00000691s)
""
0.628778
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::gpsidebarnavigation (0Q - total module time: 0.00000310s)
""
0.628782 cacheAble: no
module:GpSidebarNavigation (0Q - total module time: 0.00037193s)
""
0.629156 cacheAble: yes
module:Layout\Footer (0Q - total module time: 0.00013995s)
""
0.629299 cacheAble: yes
module:News\Breaking (0Q - total module time: 0.00038195s)
""
0.629683
done
""