Ricciardo moves to Renault

It seemed like F1 was headed for a few weeks of staying inconspicuous after nearly two months of breathless action. The calm wasn’t to last very long as Daniel Ricciardo dropped one of the biggest bombshells of F1 not just of this year but possibly of this decade when it was made official that Daniel was going to part ways with Red Bull at the end of this season for a stint at Renault. Let us take a closer look at what may have prompted Daniel to take this drastic step and its possible consequences.

He wants to be the champion

Obviously, no one joins F1 with the intention of being a back-marker or even a midfield player. In Daniel’s case, he has gone significantly further by proving time and again that he has what it takes to become a top man in F1. He showed that in his brilliant debut season with Red Bull when he beat then teammate Sebastian Vettel quite comprehensively. He is also one of the most exciting drivers in F1 thanks to his innate ability to pull off overtakes where others would end up causing a crash. Since 2014, he has picked up seven race wins despite never having a “race winning” car. He is also a very fair racer and hasn’t resorted to any questionable moves. All of this coupled with his highly infectious smile and jolly nature off-track has meant that he is well-liked by fans. Consequentially he must have felt the need to improve on his results, and he didn’t see that happening at Red Bull.

The Honda power unit

It is no secret that Honda’s return to F1 has been anything but gracious. From the very outset, they have been the worst engine suppliers by being the slowest and the least reliable. Ever since the Red Bull – Honda deal had been announced Daniel has been repeatedly questioned about his thoughts on the viability of this deal. He had very coyly avoided giving a straight answer but had indicated that he would be carefully monitoring the data generated at Toro Rosso (the only team using a Honda power unit this year). A closer look at Toro Rosso’s results so far suggests that Daniel may be right to feel apprehensive about the Honda – Red Bull partnership next year.

For starters, Toro Rosso has finished in the points only five times so far. They are currently third from the bottom in the championship having retired six times. One might argue that Red Bull has much more resources compared to its sister team, but the point is whether the pairing will be any better than the current Renault partnership. The answer is very easy to assess. All one needs to do is look at McLaren’s results from last season. Despite having arguably one of the greatest F1 drivers ever in their line-up and what was claimed to be one of the best chassis on the field, McLaren finished ninth out of ten teams while Toro Rosso ended up being seventh. This year it is Toro Rosso that is in a similar predicament while McLaren seems to be on a path of revival. Daniel and for that matter, any F1 driver would not want to find themselves in the same unenviable situation as Fernando Alonso found himself in ever since leaving Ferrari and joining the Honda-powered McLaren.

Renault is a great factory team

While the results are yet to reflect it, it is hard to deny that Renault has what it takes to win as proven by the fact that it was with Renault that Red bull had their legendary run of four successive driver’s and constructor’s championships. Also, Daniel would not need to worry about the one thing that happens to be Red Bull’s Achilles heel – an engine of their own. Renault makes its own engines which means that Daniel will get upgrades and parts on priority basis from next year.

Next year’s aerodynamic changes might also nullify whatever advantage Red Bull possesses: Most of Red Bull’s wins in the hybrid era have come at tight and twisty tracks. This suggests that their car is the best when engine power is taken out of the equation. That will change next year as the cars will become less reliant on aerodynamics. This coupled with what would still be the weakest engine could mean that Red Bull might find itself in the same plight as McLaren did with Honda the last three years.

Is it the right move?

Only time will tell for sure if this was a great move or a major blunder but looking at all the facts, Daniel will find himself in pretty much the same situation as this year. This could also be the perfect intermediate stint before being able to finally move to a team capable of providing him with a championship winning car. The last thing he would want though is for Renault to suddenly hit a major wall while Honda magically begins producing race-winning engines.

Alonso found this out the hard way as the team he left is currently fighting for the championship while the one he joined is barely able to compete for a decent midfield position. While this outcome may appear less likely in Daniel’s case, it’s still a real possibility.

What does this mean for the driver market?

The most significant uncertainty is still the second seat at Ferrari with Raikkonen and Leclerc the front-runners. Daniel’s move means that Carlos Sainz will likely move up to the factory Red Bull team, but this isn’t certain as he didn’t exactly enjoy a great relationship with Max Verstappen during their Toro Rosso days. Esteban Ocon’s planned move to Renault isn’t going to happen anymore so he will likely stay at Force India or move to another one of the midfield teams.

All of this has spiced up the possibilities for next year with some great intra-team rivalries on the cards. Hopefully, the answers to these questions will lead to an exciting 2019 season.

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Daniel Ricciardo to Renault

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