Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, Hungaroring, 2018

Ricciardo to quit Red Bull and join Renault for 2019

2019 F1 season

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Daniel Ricciardo will leave Red Bull after five years with the Formula 1 team and join Renault next year, RaceFans can reveal.

The 29-year-old has signed a contract to drive for Renault in the 2019 F1 season, sources have indicated.

Red Bull currently has Carlos Sainz Jnr on loan to Renault. Ricciardo’s move could present Sainz the opportunity to join Red Bull. However Sainz is understood to be considering an option to join McLaren.

Red Bull renewed the contract of Ricciardo’s team mate Max Verstappen last year, despite the 20-year-old having more time to run on his existing contract than Ricciardo did at the time.

Ricciardo postponed signing a new contract with Red Bull while the team considered a change of power unit supplier for next year. It eventually decided to break off its relationship with Renault and agreed a new deal in June to use Honda power.

Ricciardo arrived in Formula 1 through Red Bull’s junior driver programme in 2011. He joined their senior F1 team following stints at HRT and Toro Rosso. His seven F1 victories, the most recent of which came in this year’s Monaco Grand Prix, were all scored with Renault power.

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105 comments on “Ricciardo to quit Red Bull and join Renault for 2019”

  1. Wow, that’s quite a shock. More faith in Renault over Red Bull-Honda? Who will replace him at Red Bull? Where does this leave Sainz?

    1. Yeah, that first question is really bugging my brain right now…

      That should mean Sainz is going the other way, shouldn’t it?

      1. Possibly. But Red Bull don’t always go for the logical choice. Is Gasly ready for the big team? If so then you could see them binning Hartley and having a fresh line-up at STR. Maybe Norris? Next year could see the biggest shake up of the team’s drivers for some time. Stroll could end up at Force India, Williams then could have George Russell, Ferrari could still replace Kimi with Leclerc – leaving at least one space at Sauber…

        1. I really hope Russell doesn’t go to Williams. Driving that woeful car could ruin his reputation as it’s seemingly impossible to get on top of. Sure, Stroll and Sirotkin aren’t exactly that good but still. Also, where would Ocon go in all this? I doubt he’d go back to Sauber. Force India may have to choose between the money he brings with Mercedes, and the money Perez brings with his sponsors. Would Perez even go back to Sauber? Or Vandoorne as has been rumoured, if Alonso and Sainz are at Renault.

          1. Alonso and Sainz at McLaren that should say, of course.

          2. That should mean Sainz is going the other way, shouldn’t it?

            Not necessarily…

            Why Ricciardo’s obvious replacement may not get the gig

    2. Wow! A bombshell. Renault must really have shown him something. Hamilton to Mercedes was a surprise at the time so….

  2. Does it mean Sainz and Verstappen two hot heads back together?

  3. My favourite driver joining by my favourite team. This pleases me so much!

  4. Now that is a driver line up. Both experienced and quick.

  5. Will be interesting to see Ricciardo vs Hulkenburg (assuming he is remaining with team).

    1. Hulkenbergs tweet today suggests he’s staying.
      Off the top of my head I think his contract is for next year anyway (could be wrong).

  6. Vettel fan 17 (@)
    3rd August 2018, 11:31

    Oh my I didn’t expect that

  7. Wow that came out of nowhere especially since he did indicate that he would sign for Red Bull. I wonder how much he was offered. Prediction: he’s going to be paid more than Alonso.

  8. Very good move on Renault’s part; bringing in the best available driver. That’s a statement on their intent.

  9. Does this mean he can effectively kiss any chance of a WDC title goodbye? I can’t see Renault challenging for titles anytime soon, and Ricciardo isn’t getting any younger.

    1. Yes, I think it’s over, I don’t see how renault is gonna suddenly improve by 1,5 sec their lap times, sure, red bull had reliability problems and a hard team mate like verstappen, but this is likely such a downgrade that I don’t get it.

      Renault even struggled to get closer to the top teams this year, let alone beat them.

  10. Great scoop, left field but can understand the thinking for both parties. Doesn’t have to compete with Verstappen. Great driver lineup at Renault for 2019 if this switch manifests.

  11. Miltiadis (@miltosgreekfan)
    3rd August 2018, 11:50

    Thats the correct move from Ricciardo. I was watching him at the whole British gp & i was astonished that he never tried a move at Verstappen, despite being within half a second of the Dutchman for most of the race.
    This & the fact that they reboxed him under SC made me realise that RBR is “a Verstappen” team & Ricciardo can’t give any more to the team. Their crash & the aftermath at Baku played a determining role in his decision to exit…
    The other point is, who is going to replace him at RBR? Sainz has been underwhelming this season & last year he created a bit of tension with Helmut Marko in order to get to Renault. Gasly on the other hand, has shown good signs but he is inexperienced & Hartley isn’t the best benchmark driver to be conpared.
    Personally i would prefer Gasly, but only time will tell us what will happen!

    1. I don’t know what British GP you’ve been watching. But this is factional incorrect.

      http://en.mclarenf-1.com/index.php?page=chart&gp=1006&graf=3&dr1=Max%20Verstappen&dr2=Daniel%20Ricciardo

      1. It’s indeed factual incorrect that he was 0.5 sec behind Max for the whole race. He was however half a sec behind him for 3 or 4 laps after Kimi had overtaken Max in lap 43, right before Max retired. And it is also true that he didn’t attack Max. Just like it’s a fact that Ric had more pace than Max all day long.
        So I would say he has watched the same British GP and remembered Ric was the faster guy, but the details somewhat got blurred along the way.

    2. Gasly also has experience with Honda, doubt that will contribute much, but still

  12. Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
    3rd August 2018, 11:51

    Wow big news! Bad day to be Nico Hulkenberg

    1. Is it?

      I think it’s a great day for him. His career has somewhat stagnated as he is seen as a safe also ran, not quite good enough for the top seats.

      Sainz was proven as a good match for Verstappen, Hulkenberg a good match with Sainz too. Now if he’s a good match with Ricciardo in the same car it immediately raises his stock again to somebody who would do a good job in a top seat…which he might already be in if Renault keep progressing.

      Worst case, DR beats him and he is no worse off than he is now, seen as a safe pair of hands but not near a top seat.

      It’s a no lose scenario for him.

      1. Indeed, for hulk and renault it’s good, it’s for ricciardo that I think it’s a career breaker: as alonso proved, by outperforming slow cars as a top driver, you don’t get back into top seats.

  13. I actually saw this coming and think it’s the right move for Ricciardo as Red Bull 2019 is pretty uncertain, plus the Verstappen factor. He will be top driver in a works team. Now I want to see what the Renault is actually capable of, because I think Hulkenberg and Sainz, although both very good drivers, are not on RIC’s level. Exciting stuff!

    1. We will see. It’s definitely Hülkenberg’s best chance to put his name amongst the best of the current grid, if he can match (or even beat) Ricciardo. Also, next year the minimum driver weight rules will be applied, so Hülkenberg should have a small disadvantage removed.

      Exciting stuff indeed.

      1. Prarag Chopra
        4th August 2018, 1:43

        I’m sure Nico will atleast be a match to Dan and certainly not beaten hands down.
        Nico probably will fare better in Qualifying, while Dan on most Sundays.
        Would be exciting.
        It goes without saying, Nico has to do well for the remaining races in the season to boost his morale.

  14. What a signing for reno but I have to say I am shocked. From a fans perspective, Red Bull Honda is for sure his best to win a wdc, he is pretty much guaranteed the best if not joint best chassis on the grid, the big unknown being Honda but its agreed in the paddock now Honda and Reno PU is on par. So why choose Reno then? Better chasis? No. Better PU? Probably not. Bigger potential/budget? Again no, red Bull are Formula “A”, Reno “B” and have a tonne of work to do to join “A”. They are still not even consistently “best of the rest”.

    Maybe being team mates with max has something to do with it? I think we will all agree for a driver to challenge for the championship he needs number 1 status, he will get that at reno but will always be 50:50 at Red Bull. Red Bull will now have Max as number 1 to enable him to challenge for the championship with support from sainz/gasly.

    I really hope it works out for Danny, top top driver and a great character, a very brave move.

    1. I strongly suspect it was down to money: he asked for the same as Verstappen, pointing out that he’s ahead of Max in the points across their time in the team together and has won more races, but probably didn’t get it (wouldn’t be surprised if Horner had argued for it and Marko shot him down). On that basis staying somewhere where you’re clearly valued less than the team-mate you’re outperforming (even if partly down to their bad luck) would be extremely difficult.

      OTOH, going to a team that is improving impressively from season to season, and is a works team makes a lot of sense, especially if the Honda engine remains questionable next year.

      1. My thoughts too. I don’t blame him. In F1 money is a measure of your worth to the team, no-one wants to feel less valued, especially when Dan is at least equal to Max in ability. I hope it turns out to be as good for him as moving to Merc was for Lewis.

  15. The silly season starts now!

  16. I picked this ages ago.

    It’s becoming apparent that manufacturer teams are the only ones that really can make it to the top and neither Merc or Ferrari really were available.

    Good move by Dan Ric – now Renault really needs to get their development foot down. Next signing…. Newey?

    1. I was just thinking that – shall we revisit the Renault poaching Newey rumors???

      1. Michael Brown (@)
        4th August 2018, 4:51

        Newey to Renault? Let the silly season begin.

  17. I had a feeling that Ricciardo might leave Red bull especially after they got Honda onboard as an engine partner. It makes perfect sense for Daniel.. There is no way in hell that Red bull will be able to fight for the championship for the next couple of seasons. Max is also a difficult driver to be benchmarked against. Plus Red bull have openly admitted that the team will be built around Max.

    Renault arent going to be fighting for the championship for the next couple of seasons either.. But they are a manufacturer and likely to be in a championship battle post 2021. They also want to shape a team around a top tier driver for which Dan is on board.

    I think it’s a good decision overall. Although, I’m kind of bummed because I hoped Alonso would be racing there next season.

    1. I hoped Alonso would be racing there next season.

      That’s what I was expecting, @todfod
      Not sure if this is a smart move for Ricciardo. He performs extremely well when next to a top driver; not so much when teaming up with the next level of drivers.

    2. Cannot agree more, this is a good long term move for Ric (and Renault), the only thing he can potentially miss is a bunch of occasional win next year.

  18. Jeremy Smith
    3rd August 2018, 17:17

    Delighted for Daniel this could not happen to a nicer guy, it was time to move on and he has gone to a factory team …
    Great move !

  19. I would have been shocked if you’d like if he signed for RBR. I had him signing for Mclaren on the face of Alonso retiring. A in all, this is a good move for Dan. He will be getting a salary he deserves and perhaps will be perceived to be on a more equal footing.

    To be honest, baring a miracle, RB Honda will not win the championship next year, so it makes perfect sense to go for more money on favorable terms for the next few years of building up a solid team.

    I pity Hulk though.

  20. This would be my new driver line up predictions:
    Mercedes
    Lewis Hamilton
    Valtteri Bottas

    Ferrari
    Sebastian Vettel
    Kimi Raikkonen

    Red Bull
    Max Verstappen
    Pierre Gasly

    Renault
    Nico Hulkenberg
    Daniel Ricciardo

    Haas
    Kevin Magnussen
    Romain Grosjean

    Force India
    Esteban Ocon
    Lance Stroll

    McLaren
    Fernando Alonso
    Carlos Sainz

    Toro Rosso
    Brendon Hartley
    Lando Norris

    Sauber
    Charles Leclerc
    Sergio Perez

    Williams
    Sergey Sirotkin
    George Russell

    1. That is a pretty well thought out list. Q- Why do you favor Russell over Kubica? I mean outside of youth vs. experience, is there a money difference? Other factors? Both are so different, and yet so hungry!

      1. I think Mercedes will want Russell in F1 and so they will pay Williams to sign him.

        1. Good point. Did I hear (I may be wrong) that Nico Rosberg is no longer representing Kubica? That would certainly fit with what you are saying. Cheers!

    2. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
      3rd August 2018, 20:19

      Just saying, unless Ericsson suddenly is simply dreadful at the end of this season, or looses his sponsors (which are very important for Sauber) It is very unlikely that he won’t still be there. I admit he isn’t great, but he has had several good performances this year and his money makes it pretty unlikely that he’ll get kicked out at this stage.

      1. Sergio Perez has sponsors too though, I think.

    3. Not sure if Toro Rosso would keep Hartley.

      1. he has been very unlucky, but it’s not a good look….

    4. Kubica has got good money for Williams, I assume he signed as test driver only cos the team suggested an opening at Williams in 19. Russel probably has a similar agreement, with gearbox deal from Mercedes for Williams. Money will decide yet again.

  21. So i guess money was more important then a realistic scenario leading to a world title.
    At least three more years before Renault is able to build a car fit for titles and a engine reliable enough to compete a season long.
    No more world titles aspirations for RIC would/will be very sad news.
    Fighting with Magnussen, stroll and others will be his future.. sad!

    1. Not really, this is not like RBR will championship contender next year (no more than this year), they even said that… So basically he is betting on 2020 here and Renault could well be doing very well by then, so unless you have a cristal ball RIC is not making a silly move, just what he things his best for him with what we (or he) knows of Renault, RedBull and Honda.

      1. according to RB the Honda engine is already within 1% of the Renault.
        The renault chassis is crap, the renault organisation is even worse and it will taken some years to develop further.
        This seems like a silly end of a career.

        1. Yes some years is exactly what Ric is betting on, I see Renault reaping the benefits of all their investment by 2020, at least enough to challenge for top 3. Why would RIC get out of RBR in 2019 if they clearly favor Verstappen? He is better off betting somewhere else.

          1. Time is ticking for RIC.. he is 29 and the new generation )ocon, leclerc, VER etc) is fast and much younger.
            Renault will not win WC titels in 2020 ( or maybe when Ferrari and Merc leave F1 after 2020)

            It’s a pity his career ends this way.. he deserved better but his gamble for FER or MERC blew up in his face..

          2. 29 so he has up to 5 years ahead of him as long as he keep performing. So again, except if you can predict the future i cannot see why betting on Renault is worse than betting on RBR/Honda….

          3. Time will tell.. but the odds are against him from the start.

    2. You are thinking so negative absolutely opposite to what ricciardo is thinking.

  22. Whoever RBR brings in now will be a child with little experience at providing useful feedback.
    On top of that, he will have Max as a teammate.
    McLaren aren’t going to give them Norris so it may be Gasly, Sainz or Stoffel.
    Good luck with that Horner – you reap what you sow. Oh don’t worry though, Honda will save you:)
    A great move for Dan. No reason to stay in a toxic environment?

  23. I really thought that Dan would stick it out one more year at Red Bull just to see how the Honda thing went. It seems to me to be more of a sideways step than a step forward for such a talented guy to make at this point in his career. Then again, maybe a change is as good as a rest!

    1. Backwards I’m gonna say, I’d consider renault-haas or renault-force india a sidestep, 1,5 sec slower car is a back step!

      1. Step back ofc*

      2. I hope you are wrong, but you may be right. I am genuinely puzzled by Honda’s lack of game since their return. Renault is a safe choice, but so is Red Bull, in my opinion.

  24. After being underpaid at RBR for most of his career, I strongly suspect that Horner & Marko may have tried to cheap out on their offer thinking Dan was out of options at Merc & Ferrari. Very big mistake if true.
    I wonder if there is a one year performance based opt out for either side in this deal with Renault…

    1. The Mighty No 8
      4th August 2018, 5:34

      I’d guess you’re right on both the Marko miscalculation and the performance option.

      Wishing Ricciardo similar good fortune that Hamilton had swapping teams.

  25. I am quite surprised by Daniel’s decision but I can see why he might have gone for it. We all assumed that he might want to leave RBR but there was not an obvious opening in a top team.

    I thought he would stay at RBR but I can see he might have had his doubts about working with Honda. If he was going to leave RBR and Merc and Ferrari were not an option then I think he has made the best available choice. McLaren would have been a huge gamble. Renault is also a gamble but he might think RBR is going to struggle for a couple of years anyway.

    1. Red bull struggling by the looks of it this year is still a long way ahead of renault, however I think red bull as a team that wants to win championships HAD to try honda, they weren’t getting further ahead with renault, they even have the best chassis this year but they lose way too much in power tracks, so seems odd ricciardo ran away as soon as they changed to honda, it was a thing to try and might as well work.

      What would ricciardo have preferred, to remain with renault engine? Looks slow and unreliable to me based on the last races especially.

      1. I’m particularly surprised seeing how easily he passed both renault drivers in HUNGARY that he straight after decided to join that slow team!

  26. Well, just when you think things are going to proceed more or less as expected in the driver market, something like this happens to shake things up! Not such a “silly season” after all ;-)! One thing I’ll give Renault credit for: they have been brutally honest about their projected development schedule since they came back as constructors. They said from the start that it would take *at least* 5-6 years before they could complete at the front. They’ve steady progress but it’s been slow. Have to wonder how this will play out for Hulkenberg. He’ll have to raise his game to keep up with Ricciardo.

  27. I am really surprised by this. Renault – team and power unit – I can’t see them performing better than Red Bull any time in the near future. Maybe with the new regs and engine formula. But 2019-2021 surely they will be behind Red Bull. Like Christian said, Honda have steadily improved in the last year, and IMO Renault has gone stale.

    We’ll see! Go Danny!

    1. rpiian
      At worse, this is just a side ways move by Riccardo. After all, will Red Bull be substantially better, faster able to win races from next year, with a Honda in it than a works Renault? I have my doubts. For me he has nothing to loose, and everything to gain. He is positioning himself for the 2021 which is a good bet.

  28. The Renault-Nissan Alliance is the world’s largest automaker by volume. They are very serious about winning in F1 too. Recruiting Ricciardo is Renault’s equivalent of MB hiring Hamilton. Big things will come of this. MB, Ferrari and RB can’t be at all happy.

    1. Get your facts right… Nissan and Renault are NOT the largest manufacturers..

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_industry

      Renault does not seem to have the organisation to build a truly competitive engine. Production quality is way of the Ferrari and Merc engines. ( and it seems even the Honda has improved more)
      Renault is driven by internal politics and they could leave F1 as fast as they entered. I am afraid RIC will end his carreer with a “Alonso”.

        1. lol you told him. His reply sounded just nasty, “Get your facts right.” Then, turned out to be wrong. SMH

  29. An intelligent decision by Ricciardo. It’s hard to think that a Red Bull driver can win the championship next year. It is also difficult to think that a Renault driver can do it. But … we all know that Red Bulll works around Crash Max, since his arrival to the team we have witnessed how Ricciardo is placed in the background to favor the young Dutch driver. In his new team Ricciardo will have the treatment he deserves for his quality as a driver, he is undoubtedly the best of the grid behind Hamilton and Vettel (or Vettel and Hamilton).

    1. and Alonso

  30. I hope that this works out as well for Dani Ric as did Lewis’ move from McLaren to Mercedes. Looking forward to many more shoeys!

  31. Well that’s one way to shake up the driver market…

    A big surprise but maybe not a shock. A works team making decent progress, leaving a team that had gained works backing with a still unproven partner. A year of more of the same next year would probably be seen as a success.

    Big question now is where does that leave Sainz?

    Red Bull is a no go, given the history with Verstappen, Ferrari certain to be one of Raikkonen or Leclerc, Mercedes all tied up… Haas if they lose patience with Grosjean?, McLaren if Alonso retires? (i doubt they’d partner 2 Spaniards together), beyond that the only realistic options are Sauber and whatever shape Force Stroll 1 takes, Toro Rosso will likely have 2 seats but it would be a hell of a backwards step to return to the junior team, Perhaps Williams if Stroll joins Forcemoneybags? But the mess of Williams doesn’t make them attractive either

    He’s kind of in no mans land picking between the least worst options… which at the moment would definitely be Haas, a seat that might not even be open. Sauber Alfa look the next best bet for now.

  32. Looks like I’ll be buying a yellow shirt!

    1. @thundermule – I can sell you one. Cheap. Sure, it may have started out as white, but it’s pretty yellow now and has at least a year’s life left in it – with careful in-race management, of course. ;-)

  33. Lots of concern about how The Hulk is going to respond … has anyone asked him.?
    My bet is … insert appropriate accent here …. “Bring it on. Vill be GREAT”.
    This is going to be fantastic. Only question is what will the Hulk version of a Shooey be …. Das Boot,?

    So here we are in the news deficient summer break and this bombshell gets dropped.
    Yes the Silly Season is well underway and prediction is lots of changes and no doubt, some surprises coming.

  34. I was surprised to hear this, but on reflection I think its a sensible decision. I have no doubt that Honda are experts at getting performance from an engine, but it seems the level of expertise required in F1 has been difficult for them to master to date. To be consistently winning races requires you to be the master of the combustion chamber. I’m guessing RBR will be expecting them to consult with the likes of Ilmor Racing. If claims that Ferrari’s recent performance enhancement has left everyone scratching their heads, then that just shows the difficulty of competing at this level.

  35. Interesting to read all of the very valid comments.

    The Hulk is highly rated, deservedly so I think. But Ric in my opinion is of the highest level, somebody else said he’s rubbing shoulders with Ham and Vet, I completely agree. (Remember him beating Vet in their season together).

    I’ve been a fan of Enstone for a long time, and it has often been difficult watching them struggle with 2nd rate drivers.
    Now they have one of the very best driver lineups for next year, the pressure is deffo on the team to produce a car, and the team is capeable. Don’t forget Alonso’s “only” titles came with that factory, and Kimi’s last 2 wins.

    I seriously hope this ends up as a long term and successful partnership, will be fascinating to watch.

  36. RIC was talking about WDC chances above money, but I guess Ferrari and Mercedes never came for him. This move seems to be all about going to a works team and hoping/ believing they will figure it out soon.

  37. With the way the things were going, it seemed almost a certainty that Ricciardo would be signing a new contract at Red Bull, there is no space at Mercedes or Ferrari and Red Bull are the next best team at the moment, so this news was surprising.

    He could be due to get more money from Renault, the reports I have read haven’t mentioned figures, but considering the stage Ricciardo is at in his career I doubt this would have been a major factor in his decision as wherever he went he would be earning millions of dollars.

    The main question Ricciardo would have been debating would have been where would he have the best chance of becoming World Champion?

    It is always hard to predict how competitive teams will be in future seasons, when the rules are relatively stable you would not expect a big shake up in the order but even then you never know from one season to the next what may happen.

    Over the last few seasons Red Bull have had one of the best chassis on the grid and if the Renault engine had been on the same level as the Mercedes or Ferrari then Ricciardo would have been in a position to challenge for the titles before now rather than the occasional race win..

    Overall the Renault engine is currently better than the Honda engine but it is still way behind the Mercedes and Ferrari engines in performance and reliability.

    Unless there are things behind the scenes we do not know about then I would have thought the decision boiled to which engine Ricciardo thought would be better in the next few seasons Renault of Honda.

    If you were to put it like that, I think I would pick Renault over Red Bull as well, so perhaps the news should not have been as much a surprise to me as it was.

    Also I think most drivers in F1 are confident and back themselves to be able to beat all of their rivals given equal machinery, so while some, including myself, may think it is more likely that Verstappen will beat Ricciardo in future seasons, Ricciardo won’t think that way.

    So while how good his teammate is wouldn’t have been a factor in Ricciardo’s decision I wonder if he thought Red Bull would favour Verstappen, perhaps the contract they were offering Ricciardo was not as good as Verstappen’s contract, so he would not be on an equal standing within the team.

    If I had to predict now, I would say that I do not think either Red Bull or Renault will be challenging for titles before the next major rule change, when the rules do change you could make good arguments for a number of teams to be the quickest so given the options available to Ricciardo now he probably couldn’t make a wrong choice between Red Bull and Renault, it will only be in hindsight that you could definitively say which would have been the right move.

    It will be interesting to look back and see how this move turns out.

    1. Yes, I don’t think it makes much of a difference which team he is with.
      But RBR clearly thinks Max is the future and I don’t think RIC feels he would get fair treatment there.
      He knows him and Hulk will be on equal terms.
      I’m not sure RIC is going to find it easy beating Hulk but I’m sure he is up to the challenge.

  38. Hmm. Smart boy. Trying a Hamilton with the hopes of Renault coming good in 2021!! Let’s see if he come out smelling like roses or a plume of Renault turbo blades.

    1. or he did a “Alonso”.

      1. Yes, it looks similar to what hamilton did, however I’m more inclined to think it’s an alonso-move.

  39. Deep down I was still hoping to see Ricciardo in Red, that would have been epic!

    Still, interesting move, I’m very curious to see where this silly season takes us.

    1. YellowSubmarine
      4th August 2018, 0:12

      Vettel wouldn’t accept to have a driver better than himself on the same team, so Ferrari was obviously out of question for Danny.
      Cheeky bit of me says Kimi will join RBR to be Max’s wingman and de jure #2, with Leclerc heading to Ferrari to give Vettel nightmares.

      1. Vettel said he was ok with it!

  40. maybe they offered him a nice clean glass slipper perchance he gets onto the podium with them.

  41. For Renault, this is a no brainer deal. But for Ricciardo, I honestly don’t understand that decision.

    It makes no sense whatsoever.

    If Red Bull isn’t likely to win a championship in the foreseeable future, less so Renault. Not only that, his win record is gonna stall. Then, he may get out of shape.

    Plus, the guy is gonna meet The Challenge for his specialty, consistency: Hulkenberg.

    Obviously, Verstappen is more threatening, but the point is that Dan is gonna play his game at his court, but without his trump, the very same that made him overtop Max at the standings. One thing is to beat a faster guy with lots of inconsistency. But to beat an equally fast and really consistent dude, that is something else entirely.

    I predict a real tough battle, probably the worst of his career so far, and I firmly believe he hasn’t even considered that. Not that it’s gonna be easy for Nico, but this guy hasn’t much to loose, unlike that one.

    Actually, for Nico, Dan’s arrival is a blessing: with the bar raised, the outcome of that clash may put him on the map again. He is the one that’s gonna get in real shape with a contender like Dan.

    And the guy delivers.

    1. So you reckon HULK is a better driver than Max?

      1. Cathy Newman, is that you?

  42. This is so far out of left field that there has to be more to it.

    This makes perfect sense if Newey is going to Renault.

    It makes sense Newey going to Renault.

    Now with Ricciardo out of the picture, Newey will be pinning his championship hopes on a couple of 20 year old drivers and a Honda which is an unknown quantity to a degree.

    Newey goes to Renault with a strong and experienced driver pairing, Ricciardo is a known quantity for Newey, the Renault engine is a known quantity he can design a chassis around.

    1. That’s so crazy that it just might work.

      1. The Mighty No 8
        4th August 2018, 5:58

        Million to one chances get up nine times out of ten.

  43. Oh, my god, this is the end of ricciardo’s career.

    I’m sorry for him, but this is an alonso-type decision.

  44. RBR must try to bring Alonso. They need a fast and experienced driver now. But switching to Honda engines and trying to get Alonso will never happen I guess.

  45. Agree it’s about positioning for the 2021 Mercedes seat and not get tainted by Verstappen.

  46. That’s a surprise – although he did take a long time to make a decision. Did you see him on Saturday? He looked like he was on the verge of tears. Was it because his car keeps letting him down or because he had finally made his decision to leave RBR? Most likely the latter. It’s a gutsy move for sure. Let’s hope it’s not a Villeneuve/Button/Alonso career-challenging move. Good luck to you Danny Boy.

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