Daniel Ricciardo is set to drive for Renault in the 2019 Formula 1 season. Will this improve their relationship with Red Bull Racing?
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo was expected to return to Red Bull Racing in the 2019 Formula 1 season, which would have been his sixth consecutive season driving for the team, and perhaps even beyond that.
However, that will not happen, as the 29-year-old Australian has signed a two-year contract to drive for Renault Sport starting in the 2019 season.
While this move seems like it may hurt Ricciardo on the surface because of the fact that Red Bull Racing currently sit in third place in the constructor standings and are one of the three teams that have combined to win the last 107 races while Renault are currently the “best of the rest” in fourth in the standings, could it at least help him throughout the rest of the 2018 season by improving the ailing relationship between Red Bull Racing and Renault?
It is not a secret that there is a lot of tension between Red Bull Racing and Renault, and this tension was magnified when it was revealed in June that Red Bull Racing confirmed that they would be switching from Renault engines to Honda engines starting next season, ending their 12-year relationship with Renault.
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So far this season, Red Bull Racing teammates Ricciardo and Max Verstappen have been forced into a combined eight retirements in 12 races. Of those eight retirements, five have come as a result of mechanical failure.
In fact, one of Red Bull Racing’s two drivers has been forced to retire in each of the last four races with a mechanical failure. Ricciardo was forced to retire in the Austrian Grand Prix, Verstappen was forced to retire in the British Grand Prix, Ricciardo was forced to retire in the German Grand Prix and Verstappen was forced to retire in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Other than that, Ricciardo was forced to retire in the Bahrain Grand Prix with a mechanical failure, but this race was the second race of the season and was held back in early April.
The other four races listed are the last four races that were contested before the summer break, so Ricciardo signing a two-year contract with Renault comes at a time when the tension level between Red Bull Racing and Renault is at an all-time high.
After Verstappen’s retirement, Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner lashed out at Renault Sport managing director Cyril Abiteboul. He stated that he would wait and see what excuse Abiteboul would come up with in regard to why Verstappen’s retirement took place, and Abiteboul fired back, stating that Renault stopped reading what Horner says back in 2015.
But with Ricciardo on the move from Red Bull Racing to Renault, could this improve the relationship between the two teams?
Renault know they are getting one of the most talented drivers in Formula 1 who, assuming the team maintain their position as the “best of the rest”, should be able to secure a few top five finished here and there and finish comfortably in seventh place in the driver standings. They know that they are fortunate to have been able to sign him.
Will this force Renault to work a little bit harder on their engines to try to prevent more mechanical failures from striking Red Bull Racing, particularly Ricciardo, throughout the rest of this season, so that they do not damage their relationship with Ricciardo before it truly begins?
Maybe a few more victories are in the cards for Ricciardo as a Red Bull Racing driver if this ends up being the case.
Do you believe the fact that Daniel Ricciardo is set to leave Red Bull Racing and join Renault starting in the 2019 Formula 1 season will improve the relationship between Red Bull Racing and Renault?