OPINION | Why Daniel Ricciardo's poor McLaren form could mean his F1 exit

Daniel Ricciardo. The Honeybadger. The smiling Australian. Formula 1's resident funnyman. However you refer to him, 2022 could be his last in the sport. And if it's not, he is achingly close to losing his seat with the McLaren F1 team.

Coming from Red Bull Racing and Renault F1, the Aussie joined McLaren ahead of the 2021 season. His first season in papaya orange didn't exactly set the sport alight, and a win at the Italian Grand Prix was little consolation for an otherwise challenging year. And being outperformed by 22-year-old Lando Norris would not have favoured his cause.

"It was the most challenging year of my career," Ricciardo said in an interview with Maxim magazine when talking about 2021. "I think because I'm a bit of a veteran now you don't expect to struggle, to have one of your toughest years when you're well into the depth of your career. So maybe that was a bit of a subconscious mistake on my part to always just expect too much of myself.

"So when I was struggling, I was quite taken aback by it and certainly confused, frustrated. I was a bit down and lost. But then to overcome a lot of that and get the win in Monza, it made everything okay."

Same story, different season

Being his British teammate's senior by ten years, Ricciardo ended last season in eighth place and on 115 points. Norris, on the other hand, managed sixth in the championship standings and 160 points. Ricciardo made no secret that he is struggling to understand and get to grips with his McLaren F1 car, but it was widely assumed that 2022 could be a different story.

Yet, 2022 has not been kind to Ricciardo, either. The driver rarely finishes inside the points and is currently in 11th place on 11 points after seven races. Norris sits on 48 points