Christian Horner recalls he ordered Daniel Ricciardo to ‘stop f**king about’ over shock Renault switch
Christian Horner was shocked to hear Daniel Ricciardo's plans to ditch Red Bull for Renault from the 2019 season.
Christian Horner (L), Daniel Ricciardo (R) (images via IMAGO)
Daniel Ricciardo‘s F1 career has come to an end. The Australian driver will be replaced by Liam Lawson for the remainder of 2024 at RB. Many believe that Ricciardo’s decision to leave Red Bull for Renault was the reason for his downfall. Now, Red Bull boss Christian Horner has revealed that he couldn’t understand why the Honey Badger was joining the Enstone-based team in 2019.
Horner recalled that after the 2018 Hungarian GP, Ricciardo was supposed to sign a new deal with Red Bull. The Australian driver informed him that he would do it once he reaches Los Angeles. However, on reaching LA, Daniel Ricciardo told the Red Bull boss that he was going to sign a contract with a rival team.
He [Daniel Ricciardo] rings me and he’s like ‘I’ve just got off the plane. I’ve been thinking on the flight on the way here. I’m not going to sign the contract. I’m going to take another contract.’
Christian Horner said on Eff Won with DRS podcast
Christian Horner asked if the Australian was going Mercedes or Ferrari. The Honey Badger responded by saying that he was actually going to race for Renault in 2019. A confused Horner thought that Ricciardo was taking the ‘p**s’ with this reply.
I was like ‘wow, okay, have Mercedes or Ferrari come through with something?’ And he went ‘no, I’m going to sign for Renault. Because Daniel’s got a sense of humor, I was convinced he’s taking the piss here.
Christian Horner recalled
Subsequently, the Red Bull boss demanded the 34-year-old to ‘stop f**king about’ and say the truth. In the next ten minutes, Daniel Ricciardo assured Horner that he really was signing a contract with Renault. Horner admitted that he was disappointed by the Australian’s decision.
You’re not going to Renault, stop f**king about, just tell me when you are going to sign that contract.’ So after about 10 minutes, he finally persuaded me that he was gonna go to Renault and it was disappointing.
Christian Horner explained
Christian Horner claims Daniel Ricciardo didn’t want to be Max Verstappen’s ‘support act’
The Red Bull team boss admitted that after Max Verstappen received a contract extension in early 2018, Daniel Ricciardo was upset. The Australian driver didn’t want to become the support act of Verstappen. Christian Horner reckoned that the Honey Badger was open to becoming a bigger fish in a smaller pond with lucrative offers coming from rivals. This was perhaps the reason for Ricciardo’s switch to Renault.
Daniel, I remember being upset at the time. He suddenly felt that ‘hang on, I don’t want to be the support act here.’ And I could tell he was starting to think of being a bigger fish in a smaller pond. He got a lot of noise in his ear and that this is the money that is also on the table [from other teams].
Christian Horner noted
Daniel Ricciardo might look back and regret his decision to leave Red Bull. However, during that period, it seemed like the best option for the Australian to maintain his lead driver status. Unfortunately., Formula 1 is a brutal world and sometimes things do not go in one’s favor. Nevertheless, Ricciardo has achieved considerable success in his career.
Armaan Agarwal
(2035 Articles Published)