McLaren mum on new F1 driver after Daniel Ricciardo's rumoured $12m buy-out

McLaren on Wednesday (24 August) made no mention of Oscar Piastri as the British Formula 1 team confirmed the termination of Daniel Ricciardo's contract for 2023.

WATCH | Emotional Daniel Ricciardo opens up on McLaren exit: 'It just hasn't worked'

It is believed clearing the way for Alpine defector and reigning Formula 2 champion, Piastri, is costing McLaren at least $12 million in Ricciardo's severance fee.

Team CEO Zak Brown, however, was not ready to talk about Piastri.

"Today is about Daniel," he said on Wednesday.

"We will leave the comments and speculation about who will be next to Lando (Norris) next year to one side. I imagine that everyone wants to understand our plans, but we will announce them in due course."

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BREAKING: Daniel Ricciardo will leave McLaren at the end of the 2022 season#F1 pic.twitter.com/4T48cDiFN8

Battle over Piastri

Brown said there was no deadline for the announcement, so it could be that it will have to wait for the outcome of any legal wrangling with Alpine.

"I will not take part in any speculation," McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl added when also asked about Australian Piastri, 21. "The subject of the day is Daniel and nothing else."

It is clear, however, that a confirmed race contract with Piastri is the target, even if that would pit two highly rated and talented young drivers against one another.

"Lando is definitely a superstar in our sport," Brown said.

"But I see no reason why McLaren can't have two drivers who are on an equal footing - as is the case with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at Mercedes. Or with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc at Ferrari."

What a ride @danielricciardo. From that