Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren agree to part ways and star's Formula One future is likely down to 2 teams

• McLaren has announced that Daniel Ricciardo will not race for the team in 2023.

• Ricciardo was still under contract for one more season, but the two sides agreed to a buyout.

• The move opens the door for Oscar Piastri but leaves Ricciardo's future in doubt.

One of the most popular drivers in motorsports is suddenly looking for a new job a year early.

On Wednesday, McLaren and Daniel Ricciardo announced that they had come to an agreement to terminate his contract with a year left on the deal.

"McLaren Racing and Daniel Ricciardo have mutually agreed that Daniel will leave the team at the end of the 2022 season," the team wrote in a statement. "The team thanks Daniel for his dedication and contribution, including that memorable win in Monza. We look forward to finishing the season strongly together."

The long-rumored move makes the future for top prospect Oscar Piastri a little clearer, but it also leaves Ricciardo's F1 fate in doubt.

If Ricciardo is to remain in Formula One beyond the 2022 season, his hopes are likely down to two teams.

The most obvious landing spot for Ricciardo next season would be a reunion with Alpine (formerly Renault) in what would essentially be a driver swap for Piastri, who is now expected to land at McLaren. Ricciardo famously left Red Bull and raced for Renault in 2019 and 2020.

Ricciardo finished fifth in the drivers' championship in 2020 before joining McLaren.

Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer, when asked about the team reuniting with Ricciardo, said of their history: "I don't think that's an issue at all."

In recent days, a second team has emerged as a potential landing spot for Ricciardo in 2023 — Haas.

The American-based team is expected to cut ties with Mick Schumacher and is in the market for a driver to pair with Kevin Magnussen for 2023.

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner said the team would decide on Schumacher's future during the summer break. However, German outlet RTL reported that Steiner called off negotiations with Schumacher.

According to Nate Saunders of ESPN, Steiner called Ricciardo before the summer break, suggesting they discussed his interest in joining the team.

While other drivers have been linked to Schumacher's seat — including former F1 drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Antonio Giovinazzi — adding Ricciardo would make sense. Haas wants to take more advantage of its American roots, and Ricciardo is one of the biggest stars of the Netflix series "Drive to Survive," which has been credited for the recent surge in F1 interest in the US.

"We need to use that [American identity] more now because there is more presence [in the US]," Steiner told Racer.com. "It's what we need to do as a team. It's not a directive. We were never told what we have to be – we are who we are. But now I think we can focus on it more because there's more interest. Before, you could try to create interest, but the response was weak. But now, knowing the response is big, for sure we will focus on that."

Piastri's future is now a little clearer

Ricciardo's split from McLaren is the biggest aftershock to hit in the wake of Fernando Alonso's surprise announcement that he would leave Alpine after the season and join Aston Martin. However, it also had a huge impact on Piastri, one of the sport's brightest prospects.

The most common name linked to Alonso's soon-to-be-vacant seat was Piastri, currently Alpine's reserve driver, and after Alonso's move, the team did announce Piastri would fill that seat. However, Piastri refuted that announcement, saying he had not signed a contract and would not drive for Alpine in 2023. According to ESPN, he has signed a contract to join McLaren for 2023.

The move left McLaren with three drivers under contract next season. Buying out Ricciardo's final year seemingly opens a seat for Piastri.

However, F1 officials may first have to decide if Piastri is still under contract with Alpine, which would void his deal with McLaren. According to Sky Sports, Alpine may have missed a deadline to activate a clause that would have kept him under contract for 2023.

Could Ricciardo end up in the US next year?

While it would be surprising to see Ricciardo out of F1 next season, until Alpine, Haas, or another team (Williams?) signs him, he is now without a seat. Plan B might be a move to the US.

Ricciardo told Insider before the Miami Grand Prix that he still has a hunger for F1 but wouldn't rule out one day giving NASCAR and stock car racing a shot. Still, that sounded like something further in the future for the driver who grew up a NASCAR fan, and it is unlikely it would ever be a full-time gig.

"I'd like to drive an oval just to kind of see what it's like, but I probably wouldn't want to compete because I just, I don't think I'll be competitive and wouldn't probably do it justice," Ricciardo told Insider. "We'll leave [the door] open. I don't wanna close anything for sure, but I'm definitely a fan ... I think to go into NASCAR, even if it was just a one-off race and to, let's say, to rub shoulders with so many guys that I've watched since I was a kid, I think that would also be a similar feeling [to racing with big stars when he first joined F1]."

The more likely option would be a jump to IndyCar.

Will Power, the 2014 IndyCar champion who, like Ricciardo, is from Australia, said that he thinks IndyCar would be an excellent fit for Ricciardo.

"I think he'd really enjoy it," Power told "Wild World of Sports," via Sky News. "I think any of those guys that come over, they love it. It's way more raw than Formula One, even the way the tracks are set up. It's like going back to the early '90s. You don't have all this run-off. It's just raw, hardcore racing."

Ricciardo is also a big fan of the US, and IndyCar would give him the chance to spend more time on the right side of the Pacific Ocean.

"Probably just like a dozen races in Austin," Ricciardo joked when Insider asked about his perfect F1 season. "I think I would be happy with that. If there were some triple-headers in Austin, you would see me saying, 'Yes, please.'"

Read the original article on Insider