Three years after his departure, Horner still does not understand Ricciardo’s choice
In the heart of the summer of 2018, the world of F1 learned that Daniel Ricciardo would be leaving Red Bull to join Renault starting from the 2019 season. A choice that Christian Horner still finds difficult to understand.
While he had won 7 Grand Prix races and achieved 29 podium finishes in 5 seasons with Red Bull between 2014 and 2018, Daniel Ricciardo decided to leave the Austrian team to join Renault starting from 2019. At the time, this announcement had a bombshell effect in the F1 paddock, given the strong bond between the Australian driver and the Red Bull team.
In two seasons with the French team, Ricciardo only stepped on the podium twice. Disappointed with the performance of the French car, the Australian changed teams again by signing with McLaren starting in 2021. A victory in Monza that year will come to enhance an overall disappointing record for his first season in Woking. In 2022, the first races have shown that McLaren will apparently struggle to fight for wins, and even podium finishes.
These performances contrast with those of Red Bull in recent years. That’s why Ricciardo’s former boss, Christian Horner, still has trouble understanding the choice of the Perth native: « At the time, we made him a sky-high offer to extend his contract. The timing of his departure was extremely bad. On the other hand, he could see that Max (Verstappen) was flourishing, and he didn’t want to become a second driver. »
The last three seasons have proven the British leader’s words right. Red Bull has indeed managed to beat Mercedes in the drivers’ world championship in 2021, a first defeat for the star brand since 2014. The Austrian team is still very competitive in 2022 and is fighting for victories.
