According to Daniel Ricciardo, winning a World Championship with Red Bull would have been the “perfect scenario”. The Aussie also suggests that he may not be willing to wait too long to realise his dream with Renault.

Renault’s expectations for the 2019 season have been lower than they’d planned. The French team wanted to close the gap to the 3 top teams but clearly they’ve failed to do this, instead fighting for 4th place in the world championship, which is currently occupied by McLaren.

Ricciardo continues to support the Renault project, but demands progress in 2020.

When asked whether he could leave the team again in 2021, the Australian told Channel 4:

“If we were to move backwards from this year’s point of view, that wouldn’t be what I expected and then…ideally we would take steps forward and, yes, I’ll stay.

“A bit like the Red Bull thing, I thought 5 years was enough time to try. I really wanted to win a title with Red Bull because they brought me into F1 and the story would have been perfect with them.

“But now I’m with Renault. Ideally, I’ll sign again in 2021 and that’s because we’re moving forward and have a real chance.”

Obvious that doesn’t require much reading between the lines, Ricciardo isn’t prepared to waiting indefinitely for his chance to compete for a title. One cannot help but think that in a French team, a very talented young French driver would again become a priority for the works Renault team. With Esteban Ocon Ricciardo will have a young, hungry teammate next year, he will almost certainly find himself in a similar situation to Red Bull with Max Verstappen.

“I don’t know much about his history, but I’m pretty sure he and Max fought for the F3 title the year before F1 and I think Ocon took Max on in that battle and won. If he’s on Max’s standard and qualities, then of course he won’t be slow and he’ll be a very strong teammate,” added Ricciardo.

Abiteboul: “I live F1 physically. I don’t sleep for two nights after a race”

F1 in Zandvoort in serious doubt for next year

Zandvoort council has warned it may need a further cash injection to ensure next year’s Dutch Grand Prix can go ahead, but this is unlikely to be as big a hurdle as the impending environmental court battle likely to plague the planners for a GP in Holland next year.

The race circuit and the local council has admitted in its latest….. READ MORE

Open hostility at Ferrari

Inflated with winning adrenaline, Sebastian Vettel sent a stark message to the smoldering Charles Leclerc with a warning.

“You’re way off your mark if you ever think you’re bigger than this team,” said Vettel after his resounding success at the Formula 1 race in Singapore – and there was little doubt that the addressee of his words was sitting right next to him. His rival, Leclerc, who was severely offended……. READ MORE

Giovinazzi nearly makes contact with crane – Singapore 2019