Why Ricciardo's move to Red Bull makes sense financially

When it became clear that Daniel Ricciardo would not be back on the grid for 2023, the Australian consolidated his position to see what his options were while his management set to work on an appropriate severance payment.

RacingNews365.com previously reported that Ricciardo was seeking around $21 million in compensation from McLaren after the team chose to end his contract 12 months early to sign Oscar Piastri.

If Ricciardo secured another full-time race seat at a different team, McLaren were going to use that in their negotiations and make the compensation significantly lower.

We now understand that this eventually came to an amount of around $18 million, due to the fact that Ricciardo managed to secure a third driver role at his previous team Red Bull.

This could partially explain why Ricciardo elected not to go Haas and replace Mick Schumacher, simply because he would have more compensation in a third driver role at another team. Of course, if Haas were proven race winners that could've played into his considerations.

Even though his role at Red Bull does not guarantee race starts, he gets the most from his severance at McLaren. Coupled with the money he will earn as a Red Bull ambassador, it makes this a more financially sound move for the Australian in 2023.