Ricciardo’s confession
Christian Horner and Helmut Marko did not take Daniel Ricciardo‘s ‘escape’ to Renault in the summer of 2018 well. The Red Bull team principal and consultant had presented a rich renewal offer to the Australian – after, however, having secured Max Verstappen with a very rich contract extension – but Ricciardo preferred to join Renault where he would undoubtedly be the French team’s lead driver.
Among the many reasons that pushed Ricciardo to leave Red Bull were also fears – which proved to be unfounded – about the competitiveness of the Honda power unit which from 2019 onwards would equip (successfully) the Milton Keynes team’s cars.
In an interview given to the publication The Athletic, however, Ricciardo also admitted that the fear of being overwhelmed by Verstappen in subsequent seasons also pushed him to leave Red Bull: “Obviously if I look back that was the biggest sliding door of my career – Ricciardo said – but there are various reasons that make me believe that it wouldn’t have worked anyway. In 2018 Verstappen and I were head-to-head and pushing each other, but I don’t deny having thought about the scenario that would have seen me succumb and be destroyed by Verstappen in the following seasons. If that had happened, perhaps my career would have ended even sooner.”
