Daniel Ricciardo has bid his Red Bull team goodbye today, as he visited the Red Bull garage one final time with Max Verstappen, met the staff and thanked them for their contribution in this incredible journey that they had been on for the last few years.
Ricciardo will be starting a chapter with Renault from next season, a decision that he took during/post the summer break, one that took the entire F1 fraternity by surprise, as a move to Renault was clearly a backward step in Ricciardo’s career, especially at this crucial juncture.
None of the seats at Ferrari or Mercedes were available and Ricciardo, who needed a slight change in scenery had to go for the best possible option.
It would be fun to see the Australian fight the top 6 from midfield, get a few podiums next year and then turn the heat on during the 2020 season.
Now, all that is for the future, the present is all about a good farewell with Red Bull, one that has helped Ricciardo get a good bike for himself.
Ricciardo’s farewell gift pic.twitter.com/2E22dabRGm
— Utkarsh Bhatla (@UtkarshBhatla) November 30, 2018
Signing off in style 👊 Thanks for the good times @danielricciardo 👋 #CheersDan pic.twitter.com/LDoIOI81P0
— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) November 30, 2018
Max and Ricciardo posted a video before going into the factory too, where Ricciardo was already rocking this bike.
Just a couple of BMX bandits descending on the factory 😂💪 #givesyouwings pic.twitter.com/gBGW9YCseS
— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) November 30, 2018
Look who’s drifted into the factory 👀🤙 #givesyouwings pic.twitter.com/uD7seDenge
— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) November 30, 2018
Now, for Daniel this will be an emotional goodbye, but after the see-saw season this time round, one that saw him win 2 grand prix but also face 8 DNFs, Ricciardo is happy that he is moving on and is set to embrace newer challenges in life.
With all the DNFs this season, Ricciardo has been already doing a lot of rounds on the bike, but surely it was a nice touch from Red Bull.
