Daniel Ricciardo has signed with Renault for 2019

I have a feeling DR might be doing a Button ! Renault have serious resources

 

I hope Cyril got to see the look on Horner’s face.

 

Lack of faith in Honda?

 

Make Renault Great Again

 

I don't think so.

With the data available from Toro Rosso, Red Bull easily calculated Honda's power/torque curve and their conclusion is that the engine is already ahead of that of Renault. I think Riccardo would be very silly not to believe in that. Just see how Gasly is performing.

I don't know how Max has changed as a person since his karting years but he was very easy going and I don't remember that he demanded special treatment from the team. His father would suggest and ask changes for Max's mechanic, even doing the stuff himself on the kart, but as far as I know he never demanded any special treatment from the team owner.

Looks like to me that the "orange squadron" following Max in the races and his popularity among youngsters have prompted Red Bull favor him instead of Riccardo. In the end of the day it's the number of cans of Red Bull sold, than the races won, that matter the most.

Riccardo perhaps is thinking on the next 2 years: he is eyeing a place either in Ferrari or Mercedes.

 

That's a possibility. Or, maybe he just felt like he needed a change of scenery, and a boatload of money.

 

Ghosn (Renault CEO) would not authorize the kind of big salaries top drivers would want but DR is obviously happy with what they are giving him.

He does make Red cow management look silly now with their constant thankless criticism of Renault, never thanking always nagging, Horner and Marko in particular.

Any on track battles between Daniel and Max will be particularly intense next year...anyway it should be obvious that Renault is making very strong progress this year, just think where they were a couple of years ago. Haas too but the progression will peak whereas Renault is a fully fledged factory team that is growing very ambitiously in infrastructure and staff.

 

There is one Renault powered car lower in the standings than Gasly...Vandoorne. Renault have almost three times the points that STR has. The only teams ranked lower than STR are not powered by Renaults. The STR drivers have used far more power unit components than any other team...

They can calculate power and torque curves all day long if it makes them feel better. The things I mention are what count at the end of the year.

 

The Honda is being power-bench tested at each race. Thats all STR is focused on. Reliability and power development. Honda are still playing catch up to Renault. Neither PU is overly impressive but on the Red Bull Renault is less impressive with press reports about specific Red Bull installation requirements affecting performance. The Renault factory car seems more reliable but the Red Bull with the better chassis and less power reliability in the PU as configured.

Ricci is balancing that it would appear?????

 

Well, that's your opinion. Mine is that Max will be the new GOAT and Ricci a has-been. Lets review in 5 years.

 

That's a lot different than the 'see how Gasly is doing' comment that I was responding to...

He's putting miles on the car... not setting the field on fire.

 

This is great news for any formula 1 fans because we will see Daniel raise the game of his race craft and drive harder than ever before.

 

Autosport breaks down the Ricciardo surprise decision and its ramifications on the driver market:

 

Sorry did not mean to upset you. Just passing an observation......

 

Interesting...

https://racer.com/2018/08/03/mclaren-came-pretty-close-to-getting-ricciardo/

 

Another slap in the face to McLaren.

My guess is Ricciardo was using McLaren as a negotiating tactic for Renault. Renault knew McLaren wanted him. In the end, he chose Renault over McLaren for whatever reason.

I have to assume it was more than just "money". These guys race to win.

 

I dont think Red Bull intended on keeping him at all. The 'undertone' of support to Max and the posturing words from Horner that repeated themselves 'we are his best option' etc over and over. He would be second at any other team lol Horner said. He said that so many times in warning to Ricci.

They lost a great driver and an effective personality for marketing. Ricci has the engaging and magnetic personality. He is 'rad' as Max etc. They are stupid for over paying Max a year too early if that is even smart -- given ZERO titles.

 

Ricci was the rock at Red Bull. He was consistent and he's earned a lot of positive headlines for Red Bull this year unlike Max. Why they took so many opportunities to throw him under the bus (in terms of race strategy, team orders, in the media, etc.) I have no idea. Completely understand why he'd want to move on.

 

Interesting. Too many variables to make complete sense of it, but I wish him luck. One of my favorite drivers.

 

Not upset at all. It just amazes me when people look at Honda/STR and talk about how great they're doing...

Hey, at least they're better than Williams.

 

The Red Bull young driver programme is still a thing? Hartley technically isn't a jr rb driver, yet he is now at Toro Rosso?

 

I think both Hartley and Grosjean are likely to be gone soon.

 

I definitely wasn't expecting that this morning. I think in the end its going to be a great move for both parties though. Ric is now a clear #1 and Renault are making the necessary investments to push development to the next level. It all depends on how the RBR/Honda partnership works in the main team next year. They'll be fighting for 3rd place it seems.

 

Hartley was a RB junior driver, as was Gasly.

 

Hartley was in the Red Bull Young driver programme a few years back, before he moved to endurance.