2019 Review – Daniel Ricciardo: A Complicated First Season with the Yellows

It was THE transfer of the last year’s market with Charles Leclerc’s promotion at Ferrari. Many were questioning whether Daniel Ricciardo had made the right choice by leaving Red Bull to join Renault.

If we should not draw too hasty a conclusion about the Australian’s collaboration within the French team, saying that Ricciardo has had by far his worst season in a very long time is an understatement.

The adaptation was difficult for him, having always been with Red Bull (except for his beginnings at HRT as a precursor to his arrival at Toro Rosso) and not being able to take part in the winter tests, held back by the Austrian structure.

The first part of the season was therefore almost a nightmare until the Canadian Grand Prix, the scene of his first victory in 2014, where the Honey Badger qualified in 4th place and finished the Grand Prix in an honest 6th place. The head was beginning to come above water.

If the period until the winter break is far from glorious, with some piloting errors partly due to limited confidence in his machine and brakes, the second part of the season will prove to be much better for the former Red Bull driver.

Indeed, in Monza, he will achieve his best performance of the season by obtaining 4th place, which is also Renault’s best result since its return to F1 in 2016.

He will score points three more times in Mexico, the USA, and in the dramatic Brazilian Grand Prix where he had previously collided in the early laps with Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.

The duo with Ocon highly anticipated

In the end, Daniel Ricciardo finishes 9th in the championship with a total of 54 points, marking his worst season since 2013 and his Toro Rosso years.

If he may have regrets, especially when noting the progress of the Honda engine (one of the reasons for his departure, among others) which has garnered 3 victories with his former teammate Max Verstappen but also two podiums for the small Toro Rosso team, Danny Ric is patiently enduring his situation.

Awaiting 2021 and the big news, the Renault driver is aware that this will be his real opportunity to get closer to the fight for the World Championship. Ricciardo can already be satisfied with having dominated his teammate Nico Hülkenberg, who is far from easy to beat.

In 2020, the Perth native will team up with the Frenchman Esteban Ocon, who returns to F1 after a year of absence and will be eager to savor his second chance, a rare opportunity in the field.

The internal relationship within the team will need to be monitored, but the 3rd place finisher in the 2014 and 2016 Championship has the advantage of being partly responsible for the technical design of the upcoming race car, which should not be overlooked.

Let’s hope for Daniel Ricciardo that the 2020 season will be much better than it was this year!