Several weeks and one race have gone by since Daniel Ricciardo announced his unexpected move to Renault for 2019, and the Australian driver remains convinced he made the right choice.
The shock news hit F1 at the start of the summer break and took everyone by surprise, starting with Ricciardo’s team, Red Bull Racing, who were under the impression that their driver was all set for a new deal with the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
Ricciardo was asked in Monza if, in retrospect, he had any doubts about his latest career choice given the performance deficit that subsists between Red Bull and the Renault works team.
“No, I don’t. I’m aware that at the moment the structure at Red Bull is stronger. I’ve certainly switched my mindset to a longer term project, to yellow,” he answered.
“I felt good when I signed it. I feel I know what I’m getting in to.”
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In addition to setting alight the F1’s drivers’ market, Ricciardo’s move also entails a few changes for the Aussie and his current team.
As a consequence of his departure at the end of the season, the 29-year-old will no longer be privy to sensitive information pertaining to Red Bull’s 2019 car.
Riccardo insisted however that at Spa – his first race since announcing his move to Renault – it was pretty much business as usual with Red Bull on all levels.
“I’m happy to say it was really minimal, minimal awkwardness,” he said.
“On Thursday I was expecting some level whether it was from the team or from the media, but even the press conference was pretty tame and not too many people dug too deep. People seemed respectful and understood it.
“I had a chance to see Christian and that in the factory before the weekend so I had a chance to address some of the guys then,” he added.
“But with the mechanics and everyone they all understood it. I think the main thing for them was it wasn’t personal, it wasn’t because one of the mechanics pissed me off and I was just like ‘right, I’m leaving!’.
“A lot of people in Formula 1, whether it’s drivers, mechanics, engineers, they’ve moved a lot and switched teams so a lot of them could relate. It was really as smooth as I could ask for.
“It was quite nice to have that level or respect and maturity.”
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