Ricciardo reveals key event that led to Red Bull exit

40

Daniel Ricciardo says the prospect of losing long-standing race engineer Simon Rennie at Red Bull was a key factor in deciding the Aussie to move from the Milton Keynes-based outfit to Renault.

Ricciardo spent the first half of the 2018 season mulling his future, weighing extending his stay at Red Bull or moving on to a new challenge.

The seven-time Grand Prix winner took many criteria into account before ultimately setting his choice on Renault.

But Rennie's decision to travel less with the race team and accept a factory role at Milton Keynes was an important element to consider for Ricciardo who had worked alongside the race engineer since 2014.

Hulkenberg growing impatient with Renault's lack of performance

"There were a lot of reasons, but losing Simon - I knew he wasn't going to engineer this year, if I stayed at Red Bull, and I thought I had a good relationship with him, and there were some unknowns," said Ricciardo, speaking in Hungary before the summer break.

"I was certainly comfortable with him. If I knew he stayed, I don't know if that would've been the deciding factor, but it was another [thing] - obviously when you've got the Honda concern and a few others, I guess that was another little thing.

"As I said, there were lots of these little things which probably added up - I don't want to say ‘concerns’ but unknowns, ‘concerns’ is probably a bit disrespectful."

©Renault

In addition to Renault, Ricciardo also held talks with McLaren for 2019. He remembers the 2018 Hungarian Grand Prix weekend as the moment where everything started to come to a head.

"Sunday night we had to start to really decide what to do, and I was like 'I'm just going to go out tonight, have a few drinks, and maybe I'll find my answer with a few friends'," he remembers.

"And then on the Monday it all kind of started to kick off a bit more."

Ricciardo flew to Los Angeles the following day, and the long flight brought him his pick.

"When I landed, I was like 'alright, yellow and black'."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.