Does Ricciardo’s return to Red Bull prove Horner was right about him leaving?

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“A shitshow… You guys deserved this.” Those were Daniel Ricciardo’s thoughts on his collision with Max Verstappen during the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the year he quit Red Bull.

The Australian admitted the team’s handling of that notorious clash had contributed to his decision to leave. The pair had twice banged wheels throughout the race, before inevitably colliding for a third time on lap 40, wiping out both drivers as Verstappen attempted to pass his team mate into turn one. The team reprimanded both drivers, but Ricciardo was left with a bitter taste in his mouth which seemingly no amount of energy drink could wash down.

Ricciardo had led his new team mate during their first season together at Red Bull in 2016, but it was no secret Verstappen was on an upward trend. The gap narrowed in 2017. By 2018 it seemed Verstappen was increasingly making the team his own as he pursued his dream to become a world champion.

Nonetheless Ricciardo ended his near-three-year stint alongside Verstappen with 457 points compared to his team mate’s 377. Ricciardo took 18 podiums to Verstappen’s 11, with the pair equal on wins with three apiece. But from Verstappen’s history-making start to his Red Bull career by becoming the youngest-ever winning driver on his debut from them it felt as if he, not Ricciardo, represented the team’s future.

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, Baku City Circuit, 2018
Baku clash with Verstappen in 2018 led to Ricciardo’s exit
Not long after the Baku clash, Ricciardo made one of the biggest decisions of his life. He left Red Bull, taking a huge gamble by signing for Renault. Four years later, he is heading back to them. It seems the gamble failed, but why?

After initially struggling with the Renault in 2019, Ricciardo finished ninth in the standings with 54 points. More promise came in 2020 when Ricciardo finished fifth in the standings with 119 points. But before that second season even began, Ricciardo had already thrown his lot in with another team.

McLaren made huge strides under new management in 2019. With Carlos Sainz Jnr moving to Ferrari for 2021, a vacancy opened which Ricciardo pounced on, much to the irritation of Renault team principal Cyril Abiteboul.

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He arrived at McLaren off the back of a strong 2020 campaign. But from the outset he simply did not click with their car. He was out-scored by team mate Lando Norris despite leading him home in a one-two finish for the team at Monza.

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, Yas Marina, 2018
Ricciardo bid farewell to Red Bull at the end of 2018
That joyous day aside, Ricciardo’s statistics from his spell at McLaren make grim reading. This past season he was out-qualified by his team mate 20 times in 22 grands prix. Norris out-scored him by a massive 85 points.

What was intended to be a three-year deal for Ricciardo was cut to two, leaving him without a drive for the 2023 F1 season. And so, in circumstances which would have been unthinkable four years ago, Ricciardo is on his way back to Red Bull as a ‘third driver’.

Unsurprisingly, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes Ricciardo made the wrong decision to leaving the team which invested in him as a youngster and brought him into F1 11 years ago.

“Daniel joined us as a teenager and he grew up with the team here,” said Horner after Ricciardo’s return to Red Bull was announced. “He had some great success here with us, and then he went and did something stupid and went to drive for a couple of other teams and it never quite worked out.”

However despite returning to Red Bull, Ricciardo does not feel his decision to leave was wrong in the first place. “I don’t regret it,” he said in Brazil.

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“People can say ‘his career didn’t work out after Red Bull, he went to Renault, stayed there two years went to McLaren, stayed there two years. I get it from that point of view, it looks like it failed if you will.

Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, Hungaroring, 2022
McLaren announced Ricciardo’s early exit after Hungarian GP
“But I know the way I was feeling that I needed to try and move on. Obviously, I haven’t won world championships since leaving Red Bull. But I feel like for myself and the things I’ve learned and gone through, I still feel better for it.”

He remains certain that he will be in good shape to return if there is a place for him on the grid for the 2024 F1 season.

“There is no guarantees but I truly feel if I was able to land in a top seat I would just be better off. I think I would thrive in that position.

“I probably get a little bit deep in terms of ‘everything happens for a reason’ and I do feel I needed to break away from my shell at the time, even if the results haven’t been what they would have been on paper had I stayed.”

Ricciardo points out that although the 2018 season started well for him, he soon found himself in a downward spiral which motivated his decision to leave.

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“I was watching some season highlights, I had eight or nine DNFs [did not finish], it was a brutal season. Especially the way it started: two wins in the first six races, then it was then kind of a horror season.

Hamilton believes Ricciardo deserves a race seat
“Although I was with a great team at the time, the energy inside, I was pretty down. I felt like going back to that moment and how I felt it was the right thing for me to do, even if on paper you can say ‘oh you never should have left’.”

Many are disappointed to see a driver of such obvious ability on sidelines, how tough 2022 campaign notwithstanding. “I think he should be racing personally,” said Lewis Hamilton. “I think he’s far too talented to [be a reserve driver], and he’s earned the right to be amongst us all racing.”

But for the time being Ricciardo’s F1 activities will be confined to the simulator. Is this the beginning of the end for him as a grand prix driver? There’s no guarantee he’ll start another F1 race and he’s taken a type of role usually reserved for aspiring young drivers.

He might have had the opportunity to remain on the grid had he pursued one of the vacancies at Haas or Williams. He has taken the risky course of leaving the grid in an effort to return with a competitive team in 2024. But there is every chance his departure could become permanent. While he is outwardly satisfied with the decisions he’s taken, one could wonder what the 2022 Daniel Ricciardo would tell 2018 Daniel Ricciardo if he could.

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Claire Cottingham
Claire has worked in motorsport for much of her career, covering a broad mix of championships including Formula One, Formula E, the BTCC, British...

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53 comments on “Does Ricciardo’s return to Red Bull prove Horner was right about him leaving?”

  1. Biskit Boy (@sean-p-newmanlive-co-uk)
    18th December 2022, 8:24

    I think if Daniel had stayed at Red Bull he would have been a better driver and have won more Grand Prix.

    Would he have been beating Max regularly? I’m not sure, but the two would have pushed each other harder than either of their respective team mates since.

    1. He would have won more races, probably yeah. But that doesn’t mean his skill level would be any different.

      Keep in mind that even if they were allowed to fight each other, and Ricciardo was actually supported in doing so – they’d have been knocking each other off the track repeatedly, and the team would undoubtedly continue to take Verstappen’s side at the end of it.
      Exactly like they did with Webber and Vettel.

      1. Biskit Boy (@sean-p-newmanlive-co-uk)
        18th December 2022, 8:45

        What you describe is a worst case scenario. I believe Red Bull would have managed it better than it has in the past.

        As for saying he would have been a better driver I was thinking his comparative performance levels not skill level. I think he would have performed nearer his maximum levels against Max in the same car rather than his subsequent team mates.

        1. I don’t, sadly. They can’t manage Checo and Max as it is.

          1. Max is a very greedy driver. I doubt he cares much about his teammate. He is in it for himself. It’s no coincidence Max is dwelling on his poor weekends when they were actually the best weekends for his teammate.

        2. As for saying he would have been a better driver I was thinking his comparative performance levels not skill level.

          So basically, his results…
          At Renault, he was clearly the higher performer of their drivers while he was with the team – and at McLaren, he faced essentially the same situation he did at Red Bull.

  2. He left Red Bull, taking a huge gamble by signing for Renault. Four years later, he is heading back to them. It seems the gamble failed

    The ‘gamble’ on Renault (in particular) may have ‘failed’ (but lets’ be honest, they were never going to be a faster team than Red Bull) – but the decision to leave Red Bull at that time was absolutely correct.
    Red Bull still favour one driver exclusively in every way, and it’s still the same one they favoured then.

    Maybe that’s justifiable on their part, maybe not – but equally, they might be surprised if they put at least some of their eggs in another basket.

    1. The other basket has been consistently 7 tenths slower since Ricciardo left.

      For all intents and purposes the other basket is so slow the basket turns it into a different car entirely.

      1. Well, it was designed exclusively for the other guy….

        1. Im surprised, now it matters that much if the car was designed for the other guy, hes an f1 Driver he should adapt, just like people crucified vettel in 2014.. perez and ricc should do a better job and adapt

          1. Perhaps only people who race multiple cars understand…..
            If the chemistry isn’t right between car and driver, neither will perform at their best – certainly not consistently anyway.

            Red Bull make no bones about their intention to make Verstappen’s car do exactly what he wants it to do – they also don’t hide from the fact they they don’t afford the same privilege to their second driver.

            Whatever, their choice. It works for them when they get it right, as they ultimately did this year.
            They’ll just be less likely to win WCC’s while one of their drivers continues to struggle with a car designed for a totally different driving style. Driver adaptation can only go so far.

    2. Well said.

  3. Great article… but at what point was it never clear that Horner was correct? Dan walking away from RB was always obviously a mistake, nothing was needed to prove that

    1. Dan walking away from RB was always obviously a mistake

      For who? By which metric? Results? Race wins?
      He would only ever have been used as a No.2 while Verstappen is at the team, regardless of who was actually finishing ahead.
      Red Bull had made that clear as soon as, or actually before, Verstappen was transferred from Toro Rosso.

      Even if Ricciardo had stayed with the team all along, this season (2022) would have been his only chance at becoming champion – and there’s no way red Bull would have wanted (or allowed) Verstappen to finish second to him.
      Red Bull see Verstappen just as Benetton and Ferrari saw Schumacher (Snr). No matter the actions or results, he is the priority.

      1. Yer… but he’s still have a drive right now, wouldn’t he!

        1. If that’s all that mattered to him, I guess he would.
          Unless Red Bull demoted him back to Alpha Tauri.

        2. Oh, and remember he was offered a seat at Haas for next season….

    2. I agree. If you leave a top 2 team and you are not going to the nr 1 team, chances are you will not win anymore unless you get lucky and this team develops in a nr 1 team (ref Lewis). Everyone could have guessed Renault was not going to bring that miracle. Even if it would be true what some people with vivid imagination believe: ‘he is not allowed to race Max’ or my favorite delusion ‘car built only for Max’ then still he would have been better of since he could have won races. No, he just took step after step towards the exit. He clearly was not able to put his own performance and skill level into perspective vs the rest of the field. Had he done this he either would still have gone to Renault for the money, or he would have accepted he is never going to be WDC and rack up some nice wins at RedBull. A loveable but clumsy not so smart guy.

      1. Even if it would be true what some people with vivid imagination believe: ‘he is not allowed to race Max’ or my favorite delusion ‘car built only for Max’ then still he would have been better of since he could have won races.

        Firstly, it’s no delusion that Red Bull favour Verstappen, both technically and strategically. Everyone on both sides of the fence can see that.
        And secondly, if Ricciardo’s only goal was to win more races, then he would probably have stayed there, wouldn’t he.
        He was never going to achieve more wins and podiums in a Renault than he was in a Red Bull. He knew it at the time, as did everyone else.

        He clearly was not able to put his own performance and skill level into perspective vs the rest of the field.

        He smashed the reigning 4-time champion in his own car, embarrassed Kvyat and was roughly equal to (and often faster and certainly more consistent than) Verstappen (even though he was team favourite) for most of their time together. Verstappen being supposedly one of the best ever…. If Verstappen was anyone else in his first full year at Red Bull, he’d have been demoted to F2, not even Toro Rosso/Alpha Tauri.
        Now what were we talking about? Oh that’s right. Perspective….

        1. Hahahaha, that is hilarious.

          If Verstappen was anyone else in his first full year at Red Bull, he’d have been demoted to F2

          Sure… it is just his name (despite the fact his father didn’t amount to anything) that kept him in his seat. There is no talent there hahahaha. You must be enjoying F1 the last two seasons then. Hahahaha

  4. I’ll try to be as concise as possible but I feel this a multifaceted tale.

    Firstly, I’m disappointed but not surprised that Horner is trying to stir the pot here. I’ve never seen a team boss welcome someone back with such thinly veiled criticisms. This seems to be a power move for Horner. It’s understandable to an extent, as his relationship with Vettel went a similar way once the driver made the decision and not the management.

    I think Horner’s reaction is mostly to do with the mess the team were left in by Daniel from a recruitment perspective. Toro Rosso had dropped some good talent and ended up with Gasly and Hartley. Any promotion would be too soon and Red Bull’s enviable programme was made to look a shadow of itself for years afterwards. I think the team took that personally.

    Ricciardo on the other hand had coached Verstappen off the track as much as on it. Sometimes with Max I wish he still had someone like Daniel on the team advising him. Daniel made Max a better man I’ve no doubt about that. I felt it was a failure of management to alienate Ricciardo as they did in 2018.

    That said, the writing was on the wall with a clear direction of travel. Max would be the golden boy and the old Aussie would the number 2 driver. I think Daniel had watched that story and knew the outcome.

    With the 2021 rule change, Enstone were a great option but mostly the only option for 2019. McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes all had junior drivers signed up for the future with no obvious openings. Getting a season under his belt before the rule changes was a shrewd move – indeed Enstone did finish best of the rest the year of the rule change.

    Ricciardo was ranked in the top 5 end of season rankings for 2020. He was a highly sought after driver. But whether it was the musical chairs, the improvement at McLaren or Covid postponing the rules a year – he made a poor career choice. McLaren was a similar environment to Red Bull – a young charger who grew up with the team. McLaren’s financial woes was another reason to believe 2022 wouldn’t be a challenger out of the box. Only he can answer why that move made sense to him.

    Has his his time post Red Bull been a failure? I think it has to be viewed that way. Was it a consequence of leaving Red Bull? I’d say no; COVID and the 2021 driver market were bigger factors and Horner is trying to deflect from the fact more highly rated drivers leave Red Bull for other seats than succeed in the first team.

    1. Strange you seem to see things that only exist in a certain somewhat distorted interpretation of the text spoken by Horner.
      There is no ” thinly veiled criticism”. He is welcomed in his old team with open arms.
      Its still an asset for every team and RBR is where he started and probably will end his carreer.

      1. @seth-space I don’t think it’s a secret that the Red Bull family can be hostile at times.

        In April, when Ricciardo needed a confidence boost Horner came out and said DR’s timing was “spectacularly bad” – I’m not sure what benefit that comment was to anyone.

        In August as Ricciardo was looking for seats Horner came out again and said “he is unrecognisable from the driver he was at Red Bull”. For both comments he added positive words granted, but Horner is coy enough to know which words travel fastest.

        Then on the day of the signing, in the same press release, he said Ricciardo had “done something stupid”. These are power plays, clear and simple.

        It’s not one-off throw away comment, it’s a clever, albeit fairly malicious, campaign to make Horner and Red Bull look strong and the drivers look weak. It’s a managerial tactic.

        1. But he made some stupid choices. A bit like the one your name suggests.
          Not sure if RB is a toxic environment. its extremely competitive as are all F1 teams.
          Marco is tough but it all seems fair. The young driver program does a lot of good and some do not cut it.
          So still not agree with you ;)

          1. @seth-space no doubt DR made a poor choice in McLaren. I’d argue all of Alonso’s moves were the best ones afforded to him at the time – but that’s a conversation for another day.

            I think Red Bull is certainly toxic if you’re underperforming whether that’s in the junior programme or the first team. Algesauri described it as trauma, Vergne was fairly critical about a “tough” environment in the beyond the grid podcast. Kyvat looked a shell of a man in Hockenheim one year I remember. Both Gasly and Albon had similar humiliations. Whether these guys are aware of the risks and proceed assuming it’ll be different for them doesn’t mean it’s a healthy place to work.

            If we look at how other underperforming junior drivers left their main teams in Bottas and Massa there was certainly an air of dignity Red Bull lack.

    2. Max would be the golden boy and the old Aussie would the number 2 driver. I think Daniel had watched that story and knew the outcome.

      We all watched it. Multi-21 Seb. Multi-21.

      1. Multi 12 was first so webber deserved every bit of multi 21 he got

        1. Seriously, Webber should be grateful he was allowed to drive that car. In hindsight now we know Vettel isn’t all that and was hugely flattered by the car, it becomes clear Webber was at Grosjean level.

  5. I think there comes a point in any drivers career where he/she needs to have a change, particularly after a number of years of disappointment.

    Let’s face it, during his first few years at RBR, they were severely hamstrung by having by far the worst PU. Couple that with the fact that their chassis took 1/2 a season to get competitive, and he’d gone from a position of being a contender in a top car, to starting each season with a “not this year” after their testing showed that they were miles behind.

    Had Renault actually put the effort in that they were supposed to, moving there actually seemed like a pretty reasonable option. A works team, a fairly good budget “should” have been moving forward at the time he joined but unfortunately it didn’t deliver.

    Should he have left for Mclaren? Quite probably not, but again, Mercedes PU and a big budget team, should have by rights been a pretty positive move.

    Unfortunately RBR finally got a decent PU and hit its marks development wise. I doubt anyone really expected the Honda PU to come good so fast and so well.

    No he didn’t do anything stupid. Just like Alonso, it hasn’t worked out, but that’s F1.

    1. Ricciardo is as dumb as it gets as an F1 driver. All of his moves are knee-jerk reactions. When he left Red Bull he moved to Renault because they were best of the rest in 2018. Then McLaren builds a better car in 2019. So he jumped ship again because he was frustrated with the performance of the Renault 2019 car. So he kinda deserve what he got for being a traitor and disloyal to his teams. These midfield teams like McLaren, Renault were always miles behind the big 3. As far as I can remember.

      1. Ricciardo might be dumb on the competitive side but he might have realized he wasn’t going to ever be champion and went for cashing out. In that respect he made a killing.

        1. I think Ricciardo would prefer competitive success than monetarial success if he looks back on his F1 career. Bizzare thing is Red Bull didn’t want him out. He went and did something stupid.

          1. If Red Bull were that keen on keeping him, they’d have given him more reason to stay.
            A contract with a big No.2 on it isn’t everyone’s idea of happiness.

  6. I think his decision to leave Red Bull was solid, he was cashing in on his drive status at the time, he enjoyed the ego boost of having a manufacturer team WANT him and be willing to pay top dollar. The RB switch to Honda looked sketchy, McLaren had thrown them under the bus and bled all their issues on Honda, so Ricciardo could only surmise there were at least 2 hard seasons of pain coming of he stayed with Honda. He’d successfully had Renault engines power him to all his victories, it was something known and comfortable at the time.

    His move to McLaren was pure idiocy, McLaren has been a basket case for a long time, but he was also cashing in on his driver status, he fluked a win, which was great, but he was exposed as a very picky driver that needs perfect conditions to perform as a man several years of experience below his.

    The most embarrassing part is his attempt to get into Mercedes reserve role, that desperate attempt with the hope that Lewis would hang up his helmet and he’d be default pick, that is just beneath a hardcore driver, it’s a sad, sad indicator that Ricciardo has zero confidence, no killer instinct left, no aspirations to be a driving force for a team – it is pure weasel from a guy who desperately tried to brand himself as a honey badger.

    As a fan of his, each preseason he’d point out that wins and championships is not what he was aiming at, that’s when I knew his goose was cooked, he was driving to an F1 driver, giddy at the prospect he was a Drive to Survive star, no ambition to push an average car ahead of its place, or outsmart / outfox faster drivers and pip them.

    If anything, I think the move to reserve driver is his stupidest yet, but no one wanted him, no team thought he was worth a punt.

  7. Say what you will about the Red Bull organization. But these guys are winners. Look where Toro Rosso was when they took over. They were perennial backmarkers. Red Bull turned it into a credible midfield team. The main Red Bull team was Jaguar back then. With only a couple of podiums in their 5 years before Red Bull took over. They turned it into one of the best teams in F1 history. Now onto drivers. Red Bull has had the best junior program in the last two decades. In 2022, 7 out of the 20 drivers were their juniors(Verstappen, Ricciardo, Vettel, Sainz, Gasly, Albon and Tsunoda). That’s way more than any other team. As AlphaTauri they are always giving rookie drivers chances. Never in their history have they hired a leftover from another team. Plus they really care about their drivers which is a very important aspect. When Sainz wanted out they released him early to go to Renault but with an option to bring him back. They helped Albon get a seat at another team after a year out. They helped Gasly get the Alpine seat and let him out of his contract. Albon and Gasly were not lucky with timing. With the 2021 and 2022 Red Bulls they could have been good number 2 drivers but not with the 2019 and 2020 ones. Which made Max look like a Bottas level driver. Now they are supporting Ricciardo to get him a race seat again. If Ricciardo listened to Mom and Dad in 2018 he wouldn’t be in this position. Or he could have come back in 2021 if he just asked.

    1. Say what you will about the Red Bull organization. But these guys are winners. Look where Toro Rosso was when they took over. They were perennial backmarkers. Red Bull turned it into a credible midfield team.

      You mean, one of the financially poorest teams in F1 history that lasted more than a couple of seasons? They threw money and Red Bull IP at it, literally running old Red Bull cars….
      The other thing Red Bull did to Minardi was that they managed to turn one of F1’s most popular teams into one of the most unpopular.

      With only a couple of podiums in their 5 years before Red Bull took over. They turned it into one of the best teams in F1 history.

      Yeah, virtually unlimited budgets have been known to buy success in F1.

      Never in their history have they hired a leftover from another team.

      Except for Perez…

      Plus they really care about their drivers which is a very important aspect.

      Hahaha. Until they question the team’s decisions or management, perhaps.

      When Sainz wanted out they released him early to go to Renault but with an option to bring him back. They helped Albon get a seat at another team after a year out. They helped Gasly get the Alpine seat and let him out of his contract.

      Now they are supporting Ricciardo to get him a race seat again.

      By not actually giving him a race seat…

      Or he could have come back in 2021 if he just asked.

      Ah, if only he’d just said please… If he’d added a cherry on top, maybe they would have sacked Verstappen too?

      1. Hmm. Not much to say except I was referring to AlphaTauri when I said they never hired a leftover from another team. Plus Ricciardo’s 2020 performances were very good. If he talked to mom and dad about a comeback, 2021 Red Bull seat could have been his. But no he had already signed with that perennial midfield team McLaren which has achieved next to nothing in the last deacde.

        1. Hmm. Not much to say except I was referring to AlphaTauri when I said they never hired a leftover from another team.

          Ah. My bad.

          But no he had already signed with that perennial midfield team McLaren which has achieved next to nothing in the last deacde.

          They had trajectory on their side. From dead last to upper-midfield in a few years is a pretty decent effort.
          Renault hadn’t really done anything notable either in 15 years.

          1. Useless trajectory as always among the midfield teams. McLaren hasn’t been a top team since 2012. Renault since 2013 when they were Lotus. It’s a lottery nowadays who will build the best midfield car between McLaren, Alpine and Aston Martin. It was Force India in 2017, Renault in 2018, McLaren in 2019. Then the cycle started again. With Racing Point in 2020, McLaren in 2021 and Alpine in 2022. Seriously no one is showing any progress whatsoever.

      2. Yeah, virtually unlimited budgets have been known to buy success in F1.

        True that. It certainly got Lewis a vast amount of titles

  8. Hmm. Not much to say except I was referring to AlphaTauri when I said they never hired a leftover from another team. Plus Ricciardo’s 2020 performances were very good. If he talked to mom and dad about a comeback, 2021 Red Bull seat could have been his. But no he had already signed with that perennial midfield team McLaren which has achieved next to nothing in the last deacde.

  9. No, the only way Horner would have been right would be if he knew Riccardo wasn’t as good as people thought and the Red Bull was so good that any idiot could drive it. But I don’t think he knew that.

  10. Oh please. He went to Renault because of the money, combined with the fact he was being more and more outdriven by Verstappen.
    He succeeded in getting the big payday, twice, so cry me a river.

  11. No, just an egotistic person trying to use someone else pain to strock his own ego. Riccardo’s real mistake was not think out his moves Renault or Apine would have provided him with a much better car for longer than McLaren. Leaving Red Bull made sense when they are saying your equal but your not, just look at the pay difference.

    1. There was no pay difference when Ricci left.. you become a wingman when your performance is less compared with your teammate.

  12. Dan didn’t want to a baked-in #2 as Webber had been. It was the right decision as a man to seek answers elsewhere.

    Although his season started well it progressed less so and he was without an offer from a top team – so Renault it was. That was a road to nowhere but Mclaren was more money and the best ‘other’ option he could get. It didn’t work.

    He spread his wings – and now he furls them again for RB. That’s sad.

  13. Even though Abiteboul had supposedly secured a bunch of funding—enough to lure Ricciardo; wasn’t it shortly thereafter when the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi had dramas with the Carlos Ghosn scandal? I seem to remember Deiter’s columns as to how that could negatively affect the F1 team.

    The other issue is that despite being manufacturer-backed, Renault never really committed the funds necessary to take it to the top 3—always believing they could beat them with a fraction of the budget.

    Abiteboul must’ve made a pretty good song-and-dance at the time, but he never saw it through.

    Then Brown did his salesman jazz-hands and lured Ricciardo—and once again to a team struck with financial troubles.

    Reality is, he left RB for a series of midfield teams which made promises they couldn’t deliver.

    Also not helped by Ricciardo’s driving-by-instinct driving style which never worked with McLaren’s highly technical and counter-intuitive cars.

  14. wiping out both drivers as Verstappen attempted to pass his team mate into turn one.

    I could have sworn that Daniel was attempting to overtake a swerving Verstappen when they collided.

    1. Agreed, but some viewers seem to see other events.
      He rear ended Verstappen.

  15. “Nonetheless Ricciardo ended his near-three-year stint alongside Verstappen with 457 points compared to his team mate’s 377. Ricciardo took 18 podiums to Verstappen’s 11, with the pair equal on wins with three apiece.”???

    Interesting rewrite of history making up your own facts, below the real facts:

    From Spain 2016 till end of 2018 Max scored 608 points, took 22 podiums and 5 wins.
    In that same period Daniel Ricciardo scored 590 points, took 19 podiums and 4 wins.

  16. Ricciardo didn’t really have a right path.

    He could have stayed at Red Bull, for as long as they decided they wanted him (no guarantees there), but he saw what was clear to everyone else – the team was settling around Verstappen, not him. Given their respective ability – Ricciardo is/was a top driver, but not Verstappen level – that wasn’t necessarily unfair, but it was still an unappealing future in all ways barring the opportunity to win a few races per year.

    The other path was to take a gamble on the fabled ‘midfield team which says it has potential’. Which almost never pays off in terms of regular race wins and title fights, and was an F1 career version of putting your chips on number 3, closing your eyes and praying. Though it did at least pay off in terms of money, and maybe he also appreciated the freedom of being out from under Red Bull’s umbrella.

    But there was no stand-out correct path available, then or even now with the benefit of hindsight. The only nailed-on ‘right choice’ would have been a seat at another top team which didn’t have a nailed-on elite-level driver (for 2019, the Ferrari seat that went to Leclerc), but that wasn’t available so he had no choice but to settle for something else.

  17. wiping out both drivers as Verstappen attempted to pass his team mate into turn one.

    Erm, it was Ricciardo who tried to pass Verstappen that time round with Verstappen blocking him and Ricciardo getting sucked into his car with the very powerful DRS-slipstream that day. Verstappen noted on Dutch TV he could gain more than a second in the twisty bits, only to lose it all on the straights again due to this.

  18. “ The pair had twice banged wheels throughout the race, before inevitably colliding for a third time on lap 40, wiping out both drivers as Verstappen attempted to pass his team mate into turn one.”

    Actually, Ricciardo was behind and went for a lunge on Verstappen when they collided. Max’s late move to cover caused the collision.

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