F1 - Ricciardo to Renault 2019

[Brucebubs]

My fellow countryman has announced he will be departing from Red Bull Racing at the end of this 2018 F1 season and driving for Renault in 2019.

I have my own opinion but I'm interested in hearing others.(see my comment under the picture!)

What do you think of his move?


This is just a picture I pulled off the interweb but hopefully that will be Danny Ricciardo in 2019 on the right overtaking Max Verstappen just as his Honda engine explodes!

[inky]

I hope he does well in the Renault but i would have been excited to see him sat in the Ferrari or Mercedes.

[Ozzy the dog]

Ricciado is one of those rare breeds in F1 - talented, well balanced and a thoroughly nice guy. I would love to see him win the championship but on the surface, this seems to be an odd choice. Hope he knows something we don't and that Renault can provide him with a much revitalised car.

But then again, Hamilton's move to Mercedes was questioned and Vettel's move to a struggling Ferrari from a strong Red Bull appeared risky.

You never know, this might be a Button to Brawn decision that gave us the fairy tale 2009 season.

[Silly Moustache]

Hi Bruce, The Honeybadger was not looking happy either before or after the race in Hungary.
In fact the female Sky presenter ended up giving him a pep talk!

I don't support teams as such, but I like to see young Max mixing it with the the Mercs and Ferraris, (as much as I dislike his father) and, frankly Max has put Daniel in the shade recently, although Daniel has 118 points so far compared to Max's 105.

Red Bull seem to be having issues with the Renault "power unit" currently, as has Renault.

So, obvious questions - where Carlos Sainz is going? and who gets the second Red Bull drive?

[Fogducker]

Talking France and automobiles in the same sentence has to be the ultimate exercise in verbal oxymorons! Food, wines and "haute couture" are, no doubt, their forte but NEVER anything to do with automobiles!

This from a former owner of 1959 Renault Dauphine---absolutely the worst car I ever owned! I must of had a flash brain malfunction back then, I was really into the VW Bug thing---can't explain what happened but I remember the pain of owning that P.O.S. Renault!

I hate to see Australia get identified with this France/Renault F1 debacle! It is one of the few countries in this world that gets along and helps us on occasion---they have good beer too! I'll avoid the topic of gun laws------nobody is perfect!

Fog

[HHP]

Originally Posted by Fogducker

Talking France and automobiles in the same sentence has to be the ultimate exercise in verbal oxymorons! Food, wines and "haute couture" are, no doubt, their forte but NEVER anything to do with automobiles!

This from a former owner of 1959 Renault Dauphine---absolutely the worst car I ever owned! I must of had a flash brain malfunction back then, I was really into the VW Bug thing---can't explain what happened but I remember the pain of owning that P.O.S. Renault!

I hate to see Australia get identified with this France/Renault F1 debacle! It is one of the few countries in this world that gets along and helps us on occasion---they have good beer too! I'll avoid the topic of gun laws------nobody is perfect!

Fog

Francophobia aside, the French have some history. The first real supercar in the beginnings of formula 1 was Bugatti. Citroen has built some very fine road cars including some with the first adjustable suspensions. More recently, Renault built some incredibly powerful twin turbo Formula 1 engines. They also got the super minicar niche going with the turbo R5's.

As far as Ricciardo goes, hard to see the move. If Renault is going to make big strides in engines, he would get that at Red Bull AND have a likely superior chassis. Maybe the move has less to do with advancing his racing career than advancing his bank accounts or it may be a personal happiness thing.

[Silurian]

Originally Posted by Fogducker

Talking France and automobiles in the same sentence has to be the ultimate exercise in verbal oxymorons! Food, wines and "haute couture" are, no doubt, their forte but NEVER anything to do with automobiles!



Fog

One answer to that:

Citroen DS

[Jeff Scott]

I think Daniel was fed up with Red Bull on several levels, but he really had no other options, team-wise, where to go, so Renault it is.

I hope this is does not become another Alonso/McLaren type of situation.

[Joseph Hanna]

I’m a pretty big fan of Daniel so my opinion is a bit skewed I suppose but I gotta scratch my head on this one. The Renault engine is just not competitive. I hope they (Renault) get there cause it’d be good for the sport but right now they’ve got a cavern to cross before they’re in Mercedes territory. I knew Daniel was struggling with team Red Bull (although I was never sure why) but didn’t see a move to Renault coming. I envisioned Kimi retiring and Daniel on to Ferrari.

Maybe there’s a new engine (and suspension) on the horizon for Renault and Daniel took that bait but more likely the move was because it was the only move he had.

[HHP]

Originally Posted by Joseph Hanna

I’m a pretty big fan of Daniel so my opinion is a bit skewed I suppose but I gotta scratch my head on this one. The Renault engine is just not competitive. I hope they (Renault) get there cause it’d be good for the sport but right now they’ve got a cavern to cross before they’re in Mercedes territory. I knew Daniel was struggling with team Red Bull (although I was never sure why) but didn’t see a move to Renault coming. I envisioned Kimi retiring and Daniel on to Ferrari.

Maybe there’s a new engine (and suspension) on the horizon for Renault and Daniel took that bait but more likely the move was because it was the only move he had.

While I don't think Red Bull/Renault is a championship combination, he would at least have a good shot at winning some races. Short, tight tracks or bad weather or even a better tire strategy can get them a win. I don't think the same is true with Renault/Renault, nor will it be for the foreseeable future. Honda could well make some big strides and Red Bull would be in a position to benefit if that comes to pass.

[Brucebubs]

I think Red Bull let him down when they re-signed Max late last year on much more money than Dan.

They made it clear Max was their new number 1 driver just as they did with Vettel back in the Mark Webber era.

Daniel is not a number 2 to Max ... or Lewis ... or Sebastien.

The move to Renault can't hurt Dan.
If they achieve some positive results he'll get credit.
If they don't, well it's their fault because we all know Dan can win races with a competitive car.

Renault have been at the top in 2005/6, they know what it takes to get there.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Fogducker

Talking France and automobiles in the same sentence has to be the ultimate exercise in verbal oxymorons! Food, wines and "haute couture" are, no doubt, their forte but NEVER anything to do with automobiles!

This from a former owner of 1959 Renault Dauphine---absolutely the worst car I ever owned! I must of had a flash brain malfunction back then, I was really into the VW Bug thing---can't explain what happened but I remember the pain of owning that P.O.S. Renault!

I hate to see Australia get identified with this France/Renault F1 debacle! It is one of the few countries in this world that gets along and helps us on occasion---they have good beer too! I'll avoid the topic of gun laws------nobody is perfect!

Fog

Fog, we've all had "the worst" car experience, mine was a BMW 3201 and I swore I'd never have another, but Nanny Jane has a Mini Cooper, and it's great.

I'm on my fourth Honda, and we all know that they aren't up to scratch in F1 right now, but I'm not going all anti-Japanese cars because of it.

I'm not a Renault road car fan myself, but they've been around since 1899, and have one F1 championships in previous years.