Daniel Ricciardo looks back on one of the most defining moments of his F1 career: his departure from Red Bull after 2018. The cheerful Australian formed a very strong duo with Max Verstappen, but decided after three years to make the switch to the then Renault. In a new interview, Ricciardo denies that he was afraid of the confrontation with Verstappen, but does admit that he might have been ‘crushed’ by the increasingly fast Dutchman.
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Ricciardo, who had come to Formula 1 through the Red Bull training program, made the switch to Renault in 2019. Two years later he moved to McLaren, where he was dismissed after 2022 due to disappointing results. In 2023 he got a new chance at AlphaTauri, the current Racing Bulls, before he had to say a final farewell to the sport at the end of 2024. Ricciardo also underperformed at Red Bull’s sister team, the team management had to conclude.
In an interview with The Athletic, Ricciardo looks back on his career path and his choice to leave Red Bull in 2018. He says he has never regretted that decision: his F1 career might have ended much earlier if he had been ‘crushed’ by a mature Max Verstappen. Asked what he would change if he could turn back time, he responded: “The most obvious ‘what if’ is: ‘What if you had stayed at Red Bull after 2018?’ But I don’t actually dare to say,” he mused. “I don’t know if that was the right decision.”
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‘Max is just Max’
“There was certainly emotion involved,” Ricciardo admitted. “At the same time, there were plenty of reasons why I thought it wouldn’t work at Red Bull. Perhaps Max (Verstappen, ed.) would have crushed me in the years that followed and I would have had to stop much earlier. I don’t know. At the time, I was at least competitive and Max and I could challenge each other. It’s hard to say. I’m almost certain I could have won more races,” he added. “But in the end, Max is just Max,” he said, referring to the high caliber of the Dutchman.
“At the time, many people said I was avoiding the confrontation,” Ricciardo recalled. “But honestly, I was more concerned with the team dynamics. I definitely don’t want to deny that it would have been extremely difficult to beat Max. So yes, I am curious how that would have turned out. I can’t say I regret my choice, but it remains an interesting fact.”
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