Surrey: In the second big driver move of the week, McLaren have announced the signing of Daniel Ricciardo on a multi-year deal for Formula One World Championship from 2021.
The 30-year-old from Perth, Australia, will join Britain's Lando Norris who will start his third season at McLaren in 2021. Carlos Sainz will leave the team at the end of the 2020 season after two years with McLaren.
"Signing Daniel is another step forward in our long-term plan and will bring an exciting new dimension to the team, alongside Lando. This is good news for our team, partners and of course our fans," Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing said in a statement.
"I also want to pay tribute to Carlos for the excellent job he has been doing for McLaren in helping our performance recovery plan. He is a real team player and we wish him well for his future beyond McLaren," he added.
The Australian is currently part-way through a two-year deal with Renault after he left Red Bull at the end of 2018 to join the French manufacturer, but has now clearly decided McLaren are a better bet for his future, especially with Mercedes engines from next year.
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I am so grateful for my time with @renaultf1team and the way I was accepted into the team. But we aren’t done and I can’t wait to get back on the grid this year. My next chapter isn’t here yet, so let’s finish this one strong. Merci pic.twitter.com/YFfzbwrgD7
— Daniel Ricciardo (@danielricciardo) May 14, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">I am so grateful for my time with @renaultf1team and the way I was accepted into the team. But we aren’t done and I can’t wait to get back on the grid this year. My next chapter isn’t here yet, so let’s finish this one strong. Merci pic.twitter.com/YFfzbwrgD7
— Daniel Ricciardo (@danielricciardo) May 14, 2020I am so grateful for my time with @renaultf1team and the way I was accepted into the team. But we aren’t done and I can’t wait to get back on the grid this year. My next chapter isn’t here yet, so let’s finish this one strong. Merci pic.twitter.com/YFfzbwrgD7
— Daniel Ricciardo (@danielricciardo) May 14, 2020
"I am so grateful for my time with @renaultf1team and the way I was accepted into the team. But we aren't done and I can't wait to get back on the grid this year. My next chapter isn't here yet, so let's finish this one strong. Merci," Ricciardo tweeted.
On Tuesday, Formula One team Ferrari and ace driver Sebastian Vettel parted away after Vettel's contract was not extended by the team. As a result, Vettel left Ferrari beyond its current expiry date of the end of the 2020 Formula One season.
