2018 Aston Martin Red Bull Racing - Tag Heuer (Renault)

[Cold Fussion]

Its a regular occurrence in football, players dropped as they are leaving at the end of their contract and wont renew their contract.

A football team has a 20+ player roster for 11 player starting lineup, a completely different situation to an F1 team so one would expect their contracts to be structured completely differently.

[Sieper]

I'm a bit stunned by suggestions Ricciardo should be dropped imediatly

I guess they're either RedBull fans or Max fans.

Drivers change teams. It happens. It's expected and it's allowed for by the teams in their planning. To be honest, Ricciardo leaving the RedBull is a bit of a non-story - it's hardly unexpected. For example, Rosberg retiring in 2016 was a blind-sider for the team as I doubt they saw it coming, Danny moving on isn't.

I'll bite, why the H... would a Verstappen fan want to see Ricciardo dropped immediately. I am such a fan and I don't want that at all.

[Big Tea]

We keep hearing of Mclaren saying they 'almost signed Dan', so it could not have been that likely that he was staying at RBR anyway.
Horner said he thought Dan was joking when he said he was off, but he must have played his cards very close to his chest if Horner did not know he was considering Mclaren and Renault.

Surely the last stage of negotiation, if you want to stay anyway, is telling them Look, Mclaren have offered XXX Renault have offered XXX , if you want me to stay, you have to match it.

It seems he has not gone this last mile, so was probably not going to stay even if they upped their offer.

I think he is doing the right thing, except he may well be burning bridges that would be useful in future.

[PhillipM]

But RB refused to up their offer to even match what they're giving Max, they've screwed DR every opportunity they could since Max arrived, why would you want to stay there if you can see they're still not going to give you equal treatment and regard you as the number 2 driver?

There's only one party to blame for Ricciardo leaving to go to a slower car, and it's Red Bull Racing.

[Ground Effect]

But RB refused to up their offer to even match what they're giving Max, they've screwed DR every opportunity they could since Max arrived, why would you want to stay there if you can see they're still not going to give you equal treatment and regard you as the number 2 driver?

There's only one party to blame for Ricciardo leaving to go to a slower car, and it's Red Bull Racing.

It was actually reported recently that Red Bull agreed to pay Daniel same wages, they were going to be on par.

[Wouter]

But RB refused to up their offer to even match what they're giving Max, they've screwed DR every opportunity they could since Max arrived, why would you want to stay there if you can see they're still not going to give you equal treatment and regard you as the number 2 driver?

There's only one party to blame for Ricciardo leaving to go to a slower car, and it's Red Bull Racing.

I do not agree with you.
" they've screwed DR every opportunity they could since Max arrived."
Can you name examples?
"But RB refused to up their offer to even match what they're giving Max."
Mateschitz has fulfilled all his contract wishes. He offered him the same salary as Verstappen
and it was still not enough for Ricciardo.
By the way, I am not a Verstappen fan, but I think he is a good driver.

[Laserguru]

But RB refused to up their offer to even match what they're giving Max, they've screwed DR every opportunity they could since Max arrived, why would you want to stay there if you can see they're still not going to give you equal treatment and regard you as the number 2 driver?

There's only one party to blame for Ricciardo leaving to go to a slower car, and it's Red Bull Racing.

It was actually reported recently that Red Bull agreed to pay Daniel same wages, they were going to be on par.

Same reporting also mentioned he was allowed to change his 2y contract to 1y on his behalf, where for the worse at Renault he had to accept 2y. Reasonable arguments are he just wanted to join another team and be appreciated as an arrived hero instead of a RB talent, is afraid the team will emerge around Max or fears he will be beaten by Max consistently if and when Max stops making those stupid mistakes. Also where he strived for a world championship sooner rather than later he accepts it will be later given Renault’s targets. Either way It sounds like an emotional decision to me.

[zeph]

But RB refused to up their offer to even match what they're giving Max, they've screwed DR every opportunity they could since Max arrived, why would you want to stay there if you can see they're still not going to give you equal treatment and regard you as the number 2 driver?

There's only one party to blame for Ricciardo leaving to go to a slower car, and it's Red Bull Racing.

It was actually reported recently that Red Bull agreed to pay Daniel same wages, they were going to be on par.

Really? I read that they got pretty close to, but didn’t match Verstappen’s salary.

In the end, being relegated to #2 status while having consistently outperformed his teammates over the season must be too much to swallow for RIC.

[roon]

So... Gasly in a Honda-powered RB14-evo sometime this season?

[Just_a_fan]

I'm a bit stunned by suggestions Ricciardo should be dropped imediatly

I guess they're either RedBull fans or Max fans.

Drivers change teams. It happens. It's expected and it's allowed for by the teams in their planning. To be honest, Ricciardo leaving the RedBull is a bit of a non-story - it's hardly unexpected. For example, Rosberg retiring in 2016 was a blind-sider for the team as I doubt they saw it coming, Danny moving on isn't.

I'll bite, why the H... would a Verstappen fan want to see Ricciardo dropped immediately. I am such a fan and I don't want that at all.

It wasn't aimed for a bite. It was just speculation based on some of the extreme views we do see from some driver fans from time to time. Not intending to have a go at anyone in particular.

[Sieper]

Ofcourse your teammate is your number one competitor as well, but Max and Daniël still (despite the 2 moments) get a long without animosity I feel. For me there is no reason why Ricci needs to go, and especially not straight away, let them battle out the season and I hope Max can finish in front of Ric this year. Also, I frequent a Max fanbase forum as well and I have seen nobody who wanted Ric out now.

[Just_a_fan]

Either way It sounds like an emotional decision to me.

Maybe he just doesn't want to be the next Mark Webber at RedBull with Max taking the Vettel role. Can't say I blame him for that.

It could also be a "Lewis moment" - go to a team that is looking like it's getting better in the hope that there's enough there to mould the team around himself. Let's face it, if Renault do find something in the next year or two, he'll be well placed to benefit from it. If they don't, he's no worse off than he is now anyway.

[roon]

Either way It sounds like an emotional decision to me.

Maybe he just doesn't want to be the next Mark Webber at RedBull with Max taking the Vettel role. Can't say I blame him for that.

It could also be a "Lewis moment" - go to a team that is looking like it's getting better in the hope that there's enough there to mould the team around himself. Let's face it, if Renault do find something in the next year or two, he'll be well placed to benefit from it. If they don't, he's no worse off than he is now anyway.

It will be difficult to unseat Merc and Ferrari. And the best chassis and aero on the grid looks to be getting a better engine. I think Ric just wants different teammates. Who knows if he'll see podiums again. Maybe he's choosing dignity over competitiveness.

[Just_a_fan]

Who knows if he'll see podiums again. Maybe he's choosing dignity over competitiveness.

He doesn't need to get podia, he just needs to beat his team mate comprehensively and "out perform the car". Yes, we know you can't be better than the car can be, but if you make it look good then that is a feather in your cap. 2 years making the Renault look better than it is would be enough to secure a seat with the big boys again. Playing the long game - it's risky in F1 (ask Alonso) but if it pays off, it can pay off big time.

[NathanOlder]

Just one last point on my idea of dropping Ricciardo now (and its nothing fanboy related, the only thing i like about redbull IS ricciardo himself)

What do RedBull have to gain by keeping him in ?

And what do they have to gain by trying 2 or 3 different drivers for the remainder of the season?

I would answer part 1 as, nothing to gain, 3rd is guaranteed in the WCC theywont get 2nd and wont drop to 4thand Danny cannot win the WDC.

Part 2 , you can see how Sainz, Gasly, Hartley, Buemi can fit in alonside Max as redbull or any other driver outside of F1 with a licence. Questions will be answered this season in preperation for next season.

This is nothing against Ricciardo who is one of the best on the grid. This is just what red bull could do to help them make the right decision for 2019.