Does Daniel Ricciardo regret leaving Red Bull for Renault?

Back in July 2018, Daniel Ricciardo was one of the most highly-rated drivers in the Formula 1 paddock. He had been in the Red Bull family for a decade, since his early junior single-seater career, and was now spearheading the brand’s effort in the world championship.

But when Cyril Abiteboul came knocking with a Renault F1 deal, Ricciardo decided to make that bold switch, even though he had won two grands prix in the first half of the 2018 season while the yellow cars had failed to finish any better than fifth.

The gamble didn’t pay off. Ricciardo failed to achieve a single podium finish in 2019, Renault was beaten to fourth by McLaren in the constructors’ championship, and he signed with the Woking-based outfit for 2021 even before the 2020 campaign got under way – having been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Daniel Ricciardo, Renault F1 Team

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Getty Images

The Australian tremendously struggled at McLaren, other than a shock victory in the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, so much that he didn’t see his contract out and was replaced by fellow countryman Oscar Piastri for the 2023 season. His fortunes did not improve in a final stint at his old AlphaTauri/RB team – which was cut short by his underperformance too.

Meanwhile, former team-mate Max Verstappen kept rising and eventually took four consecutive world titles with the Red Bull squad Ricciardo had left of his own volition.

Eight years on, when asked in the Beyond The Grid podcast if he regretted leaving Red Bull, Ricciardo pondered: “I still don’t really know how to answer it, because I definitely don’t want to say, ‘Oh, yeah, I would have been world champion if I stayed’, because it’s not a reality that was lived. Max has gone on to prove he is one of the best ever, so I don’t want to dismiss that as well and be like, ‘Yeah, I would have beat Max and become world champion’. It wouldn’t have been an easy task, but I think it’s also maybe a bit unfair towards him to say that. Obviously I respect him a lot.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, congratulates pole man Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images

“I acknowledge definitely that it was a decision that was… If I tell you everything that went on, it was wild.”

What drove Ricciardo’s decision was, in part, a need for change, after that decade in the Red Bull fold.

“If I’m to answer it shortly, yes, I wish I would have stayed, but… I don’t know, at the time, I left because I felt I was getting a bit comfortable, a bit complacent,” he continued. “I think there was a desire to try something else. It’s not that black and white.

“If I could have been a world champion, was that my best opportunity? Yes, absolutely. I would have loved to have known another reality of if I stayed. I don’t want to say it haunts me, but it’s the one unknown that I’m like, ‘Hmm, I’m so interested how that would have panned out’.”

Daniel Ricciardo, Renault F1 Team

Photo by: Getty Images

But Ricciardo was only too aware that Verstappen was extremely quick and making fewer and fewer errors. “There’s also a reality where Max kept getting better, kept getting momentum, and I don’t know – would I have kept lifting? It’s hard to say,” he admitted.

“I won some races that 2018 year, I got a pole. I was still very capable, so I’m not doubting my abilities to have kept competing with Max, but… it’s a hard one.

“It’s clear that from that point on, yes, the river was a little winding and rough. That was a pivotal moment, for sure. So, if I could relive it, would I stay – and am I absolutely curious about what would have happened? Yes, the answer is yes. If you want to call it regret or curiosity or whatever, then I will say yes.”

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– The Motorsport.com Team