Christian Horner says Daniel Ricciardo ditched Red Bull despite getting a deal similar to Max Verstappen 

Christian Horner revealed that Daniel Ricciardo left Red Bull even though he had been offered the same deal and contract that was signed by Max Verstappen in 2018.

Christian Horner says Daniel Ricciardo ditched Red Bull despite getting a deal similar to Max Verstappen 

Christian Horner, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo (Via IMAGO)

Daniel Ricciardo is racing for the Scuderia AlphaTauri, the junior team for Red Bull, five years after leaving Red Bull for the 2019 season. The Australian had left the team to go to Renault, where he hoped to be prioritized, unlike his treatment with the Christian Horner-headed team.

Ricciardo won seven races with Red Bull in his five years with the team, even being Max Verstappen’s only teammate ever to beat him, achieving the feat twice in 2016 and 2017.  Ricciardo left the team in 2018 amid many separate issues that mounted on each other, including the crash in Azerbaijan with Verstappen, the team switching to Honda the following year, and his young teammate being offered a contract far before him.

Christian Horner said that his departure was due to bad advice early on in his career and the lack of communication with Ricciardo about his position in the team. Horner also said that Ricciardo saw Verstappen’s growing talent and left when he thought that his races could be compromised in favor of his Dutch teammate despite being offered the same salary and contract length as Verstappen.

I said [to Mateschitz, billionaire Red Bull owner], 'What did you agree with him?' and he said: 'I said, I'll just give him whatever we do Max...He said: 'Oh that's a lot of money, but he's is a great guy, so let's do it, give him the same deal that Max has.'”
Christian Horner said, as reported by racingnews365.com

Red Bull did not suffer from the engine switching to Honda, winning more races in 2020 and 2021 before finally overthrowing Lewis Hamilton in 2021 for the WDC. The squad has won both the WCC and WDC in the following years, and Ricciardo is looking to return to the Champion team in 2025, currently racing with AlphaTauri. 

McLaren revealed that Daniel Ricciardo left a big impact on 2022 finances

McLaren contracted Daniel Ricciardo to drive for the team until the end of 2023 after joining them in 2021. But after a lackluster performance from the Australian in his years with the team despite a 2021 Monza win, McLaren feared further poor results in 2023, so bought out his contract so Ricciardo would leave prematurely after 2022.

Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo (Credits:

Ricciardo was left without a seat in 2023, a big career setback for the 8-time Grand Prix winner, but was compensated with the large sum of $14.7 million in his pocket. McLaren had reported a revenue of over $370 million in 2022. Still, the departure of Daniel Ricciardo and the payment, along with it, put them at a loss of 9 million in the year. 

Further costs came in 2022, with the purchase of a new wind tunnel and signing new staff to replace their Technical Director, James Key. McLaren also invested a lot into developing their 2023 car, which has shown results despite a poor start to the season.

McLaren turned their year around in 2023 with the controversial signing of Oscar Piastri, who has achieved multiple podiums including a sprint win in Qatar for the team. The British team also reported revenue in 2023 of $115 million higher than in 2022, which will be boosted further if they retain P4 in the Constructors’ Championship.

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