Red Bull Racing has announced that Daniel Ricciardo will be leaving the team at the end of the current 2018 Formula 1 season. Ricciardo will instead join the Renault Sport Formula One Team from next season, having signed a two-year contract with the team.
"It was probably one of the most difficult decisions to take in my career so far. But I thought that it was time for me to take on a fresh and new challenge. I realise that there is a lot ahead in order to allow Renault to reach their target of competing at the highest level but I have been impressed by their progression in only two years, and I know that each time Renault has been in the sport they eventually won. I hope to be able to help them in this journey and contribute on and off track,” said Ricciardo.
Ricciardo joined the Red Bull Junior Team in 2008 and made his F1 debut with HRT at the 2011 British Grand Prix. After spending two seasons with Toro Rosso, we was promoted to Red Bull Racing in 2014, and has so far garnered seven wins, two pole positions and 29 podiums with the team.
Commenting on Ricciardo’s decision, Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner said: “We fully respect Daniel’s decision to leave Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and we wish him all the best in his future. We would like to thank him for his dedication and the role he has played since joining the Team in 2014, the highlights of course being the seven wins and the 29 podiums he has achieved so far with us.
“We will now continue to evaluate the numerous options available to us before deciding on which driver partners Max Verstappen for the 2019 season. In the meantime, there are still nine races left in 2018 and we are fully focused on maximising every opportunity for Max and Daniel for the remainder of the season.”