Daniel Ricciardo set to join Renault

Daniel Ricciardo’s decision to quit Red Bull from 2019 onwards has come as quite a shock for the F1 fraternity, as earlier this season it seemed like the contract extension talks were going on smoothly between the two entities.

According to a report in Racefans, Ricciardo has signed a contract with Renault and will be racing for them from 2019.

Carlos Sainz could be moving back to Red Bull next year, now that Ricciardo has vacated the seat.

However, reports state that Carlos Sainz is currently considering an option to join McLaren and could very well move there next season.

Christian Horner released a statement on Ricciardo’s departure, complimenting the Australian’s dedication towards the team.

“We fully respect Daniel’s decision to leave Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and we wish him all the best in his future. We would like to thank him for his dedication and the role he has played since joining the Team in 2014, the highlights of course being the seven wins and the 29 podiums he has achieved so far with us.

“We will now continue to evaluate the numerous options available to us before deciding on which driver partners Max Verstappen for the 2019 season. In the meantime, there are still nine races left in 2018 and we are fully focused on maximising every opportunity for Max and Daniel for the remainder of the season.” the statement read.

Max Verstappen had signed a contract extension last year and Ricciardo was in line to do it this year, however, it seems like Red Bull’s decision to switch to Honda has affected his judgement about his F1 future.

With Ricciardo joining Renault, the driver market is sure for some massive movement.

An interesting summer break awaits us.