Daniel Ricciardo ‘not aware’ that McLaren had signed Oscar Piastri behind his back

Daniel Ricciardo says he knew nothing of Oscar Piastri joining McLaren, after it was revealed that the team signed the driver way earlier than previously thought.

It was confirmed on Friday that Piastri will race for McLaren for 2023 and beyond, replacing Ricciardo who announced his departure last week after agreeing to terminate his contract early.

Piastri’s future has been the subject of one of the wildest transfer sagas Formula 1 has ever seen, after both McLaren and Alpine claimed that they had a contract with the 21-year-old.

The case was brought to the Contract Recognition Board, who ruled in favour of the Woking-based outfit, however when giving their verdict a very interesting detail emerged.

The CRB said that the contract between the Formula 2 champion and McLaren had been signed on July 4th, however on July 13th Ricciardo posted on social media that he would be remaining at the team amid rumours he could leave due to his poor performances.

‘I am committed to McLaren until the end of next year and am not walking away from the sport,’ the 33-year-old said.

‘Appreciate it hasn’t always been easy, but who wants easy! I’m working my ass off with the team to make improvements and get the car right and back to the front where it belongs.’

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This appears to confirm what many had suspected that McLaren had gone behind Ricciardo’s back to replace him with fellow Australian Piastri, and while the eight-time race winner suggested that that was the case, he also stressed that he does not feel betrayed.

‘On the dates, that’s the first I’ve heard. I’m not aware of the timelines,’ he told Sky Sports after Friday practice had concluded for this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.

‘I