After a protracted contract battle between McLaren and Alpine, Piastri has eventually been announced as the driver to replace Ricciardo the next year. Following Ricciardo's second-to-last result at the British Grand Prix on July 4, Piastri signed a two-year contract, according to the contract recognition board's decision on Friday.
Ricciardo declared resolutely on Instagram that he intended to complete his contract to the end of 2023, although McLaren had already reached an agreement with Piastri at this time.
Ricciardo's close source told ESPN: "To be clear, when Daniel made that statement on July 13th, neither he nor his team were aware that Oscar had been signed. Daniel's future was being discussed at that time, particularly in the event that he decided to exercise his opt out."
McLaren informed Ricciardo at the Hungarian Grand Prix at the end of July that the team intended to look into other possibilities for 2023, and a financial settlement was arranged in the weeks prior to the announcement. The manager of McLaren, Andreas Seidl, confirmed on Friday that Ricciardo was always aware of what was happening.
Ricciardo is yet to reveal what he will do next. Piastri's best choice for 2023 appears to be to accept the Alpine position he didn't want, but the team is reportedly reluctant to bring him back after he defected to McLaren in 2021. The only two teams with open spots on the grid for next year are Haas and Williams.
A reserve driver position was not ruled out, according to Ricciardo, who stated on Thursday that he is open to the notion of taking a year off in 2023 in the hopes of finding a better chance the following year.