Full Breakdown
Daniel Ricciardo’s Missed Mercedes Seat: The 2017 Offer That Never Materialised
5/22/2026, 1:53:02 AM
Mercedes Offer to Ricciardo
Sky Sports journalist Rachel Brookes reports that Mercedes approached Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo in late 2016 to replace Nico Rosberg for the 2017 season, offering a teammate slot alongside Lewis Hamilton. Brookes described the line-up as one of the sport’s strongest.
Context: Rosberg’s Retirement
Nico Rosberg announced his retirement five days after clinching the 2016 championship, leaving Mercedes with an unexpected vacancy. Since the start of the turbo-hybrid era in 2014, Mercedes had built a performance lead, later winning the constructors’ titles in 2017-2020.
Offer Chronology
Rosberg announced his retirement in late November 2016. In December 2016–January 2017 Mercedes reportedly offered Ricciardo the seat, as disclosed in Brookes’s 2026 book *Drive*. By early 2017 the team signed Valtteri Bottas, paying Williams. Bottas logged nine wins and finished runner-up in 2020. Ricciardo stayed at Red Bull, winning the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and two more races before moving to Renault for 2019 and McLaren for 2021, where he earned his eighth career victory.
Quantitative Outcomes
Mercedes won the constructors’ championship from 2017 to 2020. Bottas contributed nine race wins and two second-place championship finishes. Ricciardo added three Red Bull victories after Azerbaijan, for seven Red Bull wins, and secured a McLaren win in 2021 for eight victories.
Official Comments
Brookes noted that contracts can be terminated if both parties agree, suggesting financial flexibility. She did not state whether Ricciardo declined the Mercedes seat or if Red Bull blocked it; Mercedes issued no comment.
Conflicts
Brookes does not specify whether Ricciardo declined the Mercedes seat or if Red Bull blocked the move, and Mercedes has not commented, leaving the exact reason for the unfilled seat ambiguous.
Verbatim Quotes
- “You'll be hard pushed to find a driver who admits to a poor decision, but did you know, for example, that Daniel Ricciardo had an offer to replace Nico Rosberg at Mercedes when Rosberg left the sport in a shock announcement at the end of 2016?,” — Rachel Brookes, Sky Sports journalist and presenter.
- “Yes, the Mercedes team that won in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.” — Rachel Brookes.
- “Yes, the Mercedes team that won in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. While Ricciardo was tied into a contract with Red Bull at the time, we all know that contracts are just bits of paper if both sides agree to end them (for an inordinate amount of money, no doubt!). Ricciardo took victory at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Getty” — Rachel Brookes.
