Tweet— Twitter API (@user) date Seb may be left standing when the music stops. Interesting that they "chose" Danny over Seb....
Actually, Seb declined......so McLaren went with Ricciardo as their 2nd choice. Seidl was pro-Vettel but Seb did'nt want to spend 3 more years bringing a team up.
Maybe i'm the only one... probably because I just don't see the hype... but I'm thinking this could be a huge risk for Ric. He's a talented drive for sure, but I'm wondering what happens if Lando wipes the track with him.
It is the biggest risk for Danny. His window for becoming champion is closing ever more quikcly. He has this contract and maybe the next to secure a car that will put him in a position to win. He doesn't have that with McLaren. But, he has the best seat available right now. There wasn't really any opportunity at Merc. SF would potentially have been RedBull redux, with Charles very clearly the #1 option. Red Bull wasn't an option. Renault appears to be in a shambles. McLaren have made great strides, and they're getting a new, better PU in the near future. Lando is still young and new enough that he won't, we think, be able to pressure Danny. So Riccardo will have the opportunity to shine, to potentially grab some podiums, and to see if McLaren either builds a car that can put him on the podium, or to position himself for the 'next job' - wherever that may be.
I think his biggest mistake was leaving Red Bull and being arrogant enough to think he'd be welcomed back if he decided to return. I think once you leave a top tier team, it's hard to go back... not impossible but hard and i think unless he absolutely crushes Lando decisively, his career is over in regards to ever getting a WDC. I think if he didn't like Max emerging as the favored driver, he should of assured hi place on the team via the track. Instead, he bailed.
There is a problem for all (relatively) aging drivers - there is currently one single team allowing to fight for the championship and this team already has a designated winning driver. Younger drivers can try and shine in lesser teams to be allowed to join a team able to win in the future, but for older drivers the window is closed.
His move to Renault certainly didn't do him any favour; but who could have predicted it would be that bad ?
Yep, Hamilton's leaving would surely unlock the drivers' market; that's assuming he wouldn't take Mercedes with him in retirement.
Right. I think that move was a knee-jerk reaction by Danny when he sensed that Red Bull was going to favor Max over him. I think he regretted it rather quickly.
I don't remember a single person saying of Ricci... "Renault: Great move!" Pretty sure I even heard Cyril Abiteboul say at the announcement... "We are very pleased to have him... but I don't know what the **** he was drinking when he signed"
I remember that around the time Ricciardo signed for Renault, Abiteboul said that Renault had finalised the purchase of Enstone installations. It was announced that Renault would invest more in the team and the engine facilities at Viry-Chatillon in France. Abiteboul spoke about massive recruitment of technicians to beed up the staff up yo 600, a forthcoming budget increase, etc ... That was the program Ricciardo was sold, and upon which he made his decision, probably helped by a generous €31 million per year offer no doubt. For Ricciardo, it was renewing with the company that gave him all his GP wins so far! Everything looked brilliant on paper. Soon after, Renault had the Carlos Goshn affair and embarassing revelations about their CEO and the Renault-Nissan alliance. Renault, one of the pillars of industry in France, (like GM was one in the States) became the subject of an legal proceedings - still ongoing. Goshn deputy was himself sacked, the company had an interim president, etc ... Goshn escaped the clutch of Japanese justice, adding fuel to the fire. Added to that, the sales figures literally collapsed with the pandemic. What all that had to do with F1? Racing became a low priority at Renault, and the F1 team didn't know if it was to survive the storm. What was so promising 2 years ago, has turned into a nightmare for Ricciardo. Easy to condemn him now, but he didn't have the luxury of insight at the time.
I think his departure from RB was orchestrated by Marko. Possibly that Ricciardo could foresee more skulduggery coming
I agree with this, especially the return to a top tier team... And I think Renault played a huge part on his emotions at the time and dangling that 30m/season paycheck in front of him (that he now likely has to beg/sue to get this years!). They used the ''look at ze honda enjin'' and promised yet another ''great brand new reno enjin next year''. Promised him number 1 status, promised a great engine, played mind tricks that the Honda would be terrible and Renault superior, and they could easily jump Red Bull in the WDC. Abiteboul is a snake, and an overpromising, underdelivering snake at that. How he still has a job in F1 is utterly beyond me. Must be impossible to sack someone in la france I reckon. With all that in mind, Mclaren is the best team he could've chosen. Team on the up, I like the management, bounced back plenty of times from dismal seasons...Mercedes looking ever more likely to exit the sport post 2021...it'll likely be a Ferrari/Mclaren/Red Bull 3 way!
Ricciardo was signed in August 2018. Already been told that the 2019 engine was a great one and all new. So Ghosn affairs in November have **** all to do with it. Corona virus pandemic...how does that factor into Renault's dismal season? As Bob says....everyone with any idea about Renault F1 and Abiteboul knew they aren't going anywhere and them fighting for the title was a pipe dream. It was said here by many...Abiteboul signing Ricciardo was Abiteboul's way of punishing Red Bull for moving to a new engine manufacturer (costing Renault tens of millions), Ricciardo, not willing to be a number 2 (the way things where going), took the money in exchange for a bet that Honda would make another bad engine and Renault would finally deliver on at least some of the promises.
Let's also give Danny credit here. I don't think the 2-year duration of the contract was an accident: it allowed him to get back in the market now, when a number of drivers' contracts are up for renewal AND it gave him a year to see if Renault was headed in the right direction. Plus more money than he could spend in a lifetime. Where his strategy may have gone wrong is in overestimating the attractiveness of good drivers on bad teams and the long-term memory of F1 teams. Even high talent can be masked by terrible cars. And recent performance outweighs past accomplishments. (See: Vettel, Sebastien)
