Seemingly unwanted F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo was close to joining Alpine this season after he was made surplus to requirements at McLaren, it has emerged. The move for Ricciardo was tied in with the destination of fellow Australian driver Oscar Piastri. Alpine announced the Melbourne-based 21-year-old as a driver for 2023 – only for the young gun to declare on Twitter he had not signed with the French outfit and later joined McLaren. In an effort to mitigate the bombshell, McLaren chief executive Zak Brown had approached Alpine with a plan to swap drivers: in return for Piastri joining McLaren, Ricciardo would be released to Alpine.

Follow MotorMouth on social media:

• 
• 
• 
•