Daniel Ricciardo admits that him leaving Red Bull for Renault in 2019 had nothing to do with whether he was in a fast car or not.
Ricciardo joined Red Bull in 2014 and announced himself on the world stage fairly quickly. He finished fourth in his first ever season with the Austrian team. His stint with them lasted till 2018, and the Aussie won seven races there.
In 2019 when he announced he would leave Red Bull to join Renault, many people were surprised. The exact reasons behind his departure were not revealed then, but it was assumed that the team preferring Max Verstappen over him was a major factor.
BREAKING: Daniel Ricciardo is leaving Red Bull at the end of 2018 #F1https://t.co/Ra5pCuVfj0
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 3, 2018
The Perth born driver stayed in Renault till 2020, but the partnership never really clicked. He did earn two podium finishes, but it wasn’t enough to convince Ricciardo, who jumped ship to McLaren in 2021.
At McLaren, Ricciardo faced further problems. For the first half of his debut season, he was massively outperformed by his teammate Lando Norris. The only highlight of his stay in Surrey so far was his win in Monza last September.
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Leaving a big team like Red Bull for the midfield is never easy, says Daniel Ricciardo
Earlier this month, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealed that Ricciardo rejected a massive deal offered by them in 2019. This led to many wondering if he regrets leaving the Milton-Keynes based team.
The honey badger on the other hand insists that there were no regrets. His decision to join Renault and then McLaren depended on more factors than just whether he had the fastest car.
“Obviously I would love to win a title with McLaren and then kind of say ‘I told you so'”, he said to the Herald Sun. “But I appreciate until that happens then there will probably be that narrative with a lot of people.”
To celebrate @DanielRicciardo returning to the #AusGP, send us a video message to welcome him back home. 🧡🇦🇺
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) April 5, 2022
“It doesn’t bother me. I also knew that it was also going to come with the territory of leaving a big team. And obviously at the time I felt like that was the right thing for me.”
‘You kind of stand by that and it really did feel like the right thing,” he added.
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