Daniel Ricciardo will be paid $36 million not to race in Formula One next year

Sitting on the sidelines for season 2023 will deliver the biggest salary in Aussie F1 ace Daniel Ricciardo’s grand prix career.

Walking away from the McLaren Formula One team a year early – and then rejoining Red Bull Racing where he scored his best results – will provide the biggest payday in Aussie ace Daniel Ricciardo’s grand prix career.

Ricciardo’s combined package from the two F1 teams for 2023 will total $US24.3 million ($AU36 million), according to research by Business Book GP reported by Sportune.fr.

The majority of the money – a reported $US22.2 million ($AU32.9 million) – will come from McLaren Racing as the severance pay for terminating his driving contact a year early.

The rest of his salary for the coming year – another estimated $US2.1 million ($AU3.1 million) – will be paid by Red Bull Racing as he becomes the team’s third driver and a Red Bull ambassador.

The 2023 financial package, according to Business Book GP , will take Ricciardo’s career earnings in Formula One to more than $US121.4 million ($AU180 million) since he first raced in F1 with the tail-end Hispania Racing team in 2011.

In 2022, Ricciardo was rated equal sixth with Aston Martin’s four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel on the Formula One drivers’ rich list, with a salary estimated by Forbes at $US17 million ($AU25 million).

Two-time world champion Max Verstappen, who claimed his second title with Red Bull Racing in 2022, was rated number one by Forbes with estimated earnings of $US60 million ($AU89 million).

Verstappen’s 2022 contract with Red Bull Racing, which included lucrative bonuses for race wins and points-scoring finishes in the Top 10 at each race, made him the first driver since 2013 to bank more money than seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Even so, Hamilton earned an estimated $US55 million ($US81.5 million) at the Mercedes-AMG team.

Ricciardo’s split from McLaren came after two unsuccessful seasons where he scored only a single win – at the Italian Grand Prix in 2021 – and was outgunned by his younger teammate in most races and qualifying sessions.

His best result for 2022 was fifth place in the Singapore Grand Prix, and Ricciardo ranked 11th in the drivers’ standings for the year while his McLaren team mate Lando Norris finished seventh.

Ricciardo is being replaced at McLaren by a fellow Australian, highly-rated rookie Oscar Piastri, while his new role at Red Bull Racing is likely to see him demonstrating a Formula One car at Mount Panorama, Bathurst, in February 2023.

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