Daniel Ricciardo happy for Red Bull, but no regrets about Renault move
Ricciardo says he wouldn't "have achieved anything else" if he stayed at Red Bull as he wouldn't be in title contention
Friday 12 July 2019 12:47, UK
Daniel Ricciardo insists he has "no regrets" about his move to Renault despite seeing Red Bull pick up their first victory of the season - because he wouldn't have been challenging for the title had he stayed.
Ricciardo was the shock transfer for F1 2019, swapping a team who won five races last season for a rebuilding Renault outfit who haven't achieved a podium finish in eight years.
The Australian only finished 12th at the last race in Austria and was lapped by the magnificent race-winner Verstappen, his former Red Bull team-mate.
But Ricciardo said: "Honestly, no regrets. Part of me was pretty happy for them and for F1 to have a good race."
Ricciardo also hinted that he feels his decision to leave Red Bull has been vindicated by the fact that they are still some way off the 2019 season's runaway leaders Mercedes.
"If I look back by that time last year, Red Bull had three wins and that was the first," he added. "Obviously I'm further back at the moment but I expected this.
"If I stayed at Red Bull it was to try and win the title. Sure, they got the win last weekend but they're still a fair way away from the title. That's not having a dig, that's just the reality. I don't think I would have achieved anything else I was already achieving there."
Ricciardo is now looking for a strong result at the British GP this weekend with Renault, who have endured an inconsistent and often disappointing campaign. Their best result of the season came in Canada, where Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth and seventh.
"No regrets, and I'm trying to build something here with Renault," Ricciardo stated.
There's still quite a bit of work to do but equally it's pretty fulfilling when you do get a little bit of a result and Montreal was one of those moments where that result alone made the [start of the season] worth it."
WATCH: At least one Australian had a good day...
F1 2019 heads to Silverstone for the big event of the motorsport summer. Join Sky Sports F1 for extensive coverage across the weekend - the race starts at 2.10pm. Find out more here to watch all the season live.
