'He didn’t want to become the second driver'- Christian Horner opens up on Daniel Ricciardo’s departure from Red Bull
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Updated 03/04/2022 at 10:12 GMT
Horner said: "We put offers in front of him that were stratospheric. Daniel is a great driver and we were sad when he decided to leave the team here. And it’s unfortunately not worked out for him the way he would have liked." Ricciardo is now plying his trade with McLaren and has endured a frustrating start to the season, with Covid ruling him out of pre-season testing in Bahrain.
Daniel Ricciardo
Image credit: Getty Images
Christian Horner has spoken about Daniel Ricciardo’s decision to leave Red Bull at the end of 2018, with the team principal citing the emergence of Max Verstappen as a key factor.
Ricciardo had worked his way into the senior Red Bull squad in 2014, where he initially raced alongside Sebastian Vettel and Daniil Kvyat, before Verstappen came onto the scene in 2016.
With the focus more on Verstappen, Ricciardo elected to move onto Renault for the 2019 season.
“Daniel could see Max in the ascendancy and he didn’t want to become the second driver,” Horner told The Australian newspaper, ahead of next weekend's Australian Grand Prix.
Horner reflected on the Ricciardo's departure in more detail, and said he had offered him big money in a bid to retain his services.
"We put offers in front of him that were stratospheric," he said. “Daniel is a great driver and we were sad when he decided to leave the team here. And it’s unfortunately not worked out for him the way he would have liked."
Ricciardo is now plying his trade with McLaren and has endured a frustrating start to the season with Covid ruling him out of pre-season testing in Bahrain. He is also yet to score a point in 2022.
However, the 32-year-old is hoping for a turnaround in fortunes soon and said the following after being asked if there was light at the end of the tunnel for the team: "There has to be, you know?”
"That’s what we work towards. We’ll keep working towards it until we get to see the light, if you will.
"It’s going to be a bit of a process now, it’s not an overnight change. It’s not a change that can happen in the space of a week.
"But I think we have some kind of bigger changes to address to get us in a, let’s say, top five position."
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