Jacques Villeneuve has added to the growing speculation surrounding the future of Daniel Ricciardo, stating that the Aussie's time at McLaren "is over".
Disappointing results, a significant performance gap to teammate Lando Norris and public comments from McLaren boss Zak Brown are painting a dire picture for Ricciardo.
Since his high profile move to the Woking-based outfit at the start of last year, Ricciardo has consistently underperformed Norris, one of F1's most talented young drivers.
Ricciardo's win in the 2021 Italian Grand Prix offered a glimpse of hope that the 32-year-old was finally getting his affairs in order. But this season, if anything, the gap to Norris has increased on the back of Ricciardo's struggles to get to grips with McLaren's ground effect MCL36.
After seven races, Norris has outscored his teammate by 37 points, and last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix was just another case of Ricciardo massively underperforming his McLaren colleague, not to mention a costly FP2 session that ended in the barriers.
Ahead of last weekend's race, Brown stated that Ricciardo had failed to fulfil McLaren's expectation, later alluding to "mechanisms" in the latter's contract that may allow for an early termination of his driver's three-year deal that runs until the end of 2023.
However, reports also suggest that the option for the Aussie to leave McLaren is his, not the team's.
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But far as Villeneuve is concerned, it's unlikely Ricciardo will be on the grid with McLaren next season.
"Daniel Ricciardo's time at McLaren is over," Villeneuve wrote in his column for Dutch outlet Formule1.nl.
"CEO Zak Brown is now saying that there are clauses in his contract, and that means that a decision has almost been made. It's a way to put the pressure on the driver and prepare the media."
Villeneuve argues that Ricciardo's mediocre results are costing the team money, a fact that certainly isn't lost on Zak Brown.
"Ultimately, he has been a highly-paid driver who has cost the team a lot of money," added the 1997 F1 world champion.
"He doesn't bring in any points and he doesn't have the speed the team needs to develop the car. So he's just costing them money.
"It would be cheaper for them to continue paying Ricciardo's salary, let him sit on the couch at home, and put another driver in the car. It's a harsh reality, but that's Formula 1."
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