Breaking news
Formula 1
Ricciardo denies Horner charge of "running from a fight"
Daniel Ricciardo says he was not "running from a fight" with Max Verstappen by leaving Red Bull to join Renault for the 2019 Formula 1 season.
Scott Mitchell
Published: Feb 28, 2019, 9:23 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
During filming for F1's upcoming Netflix documentary on the 2018 season, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner is said to have questioned whether Ricciardo was "making the right career choice" following the Australian's shock announcement last summer.
According to The Telegraph, in one episode Horner says: "My assumption is that he is running from a fight."
Ricciardo and Verstappen had a positive personal relationship at Red Bull but Ricciardo has admitted the handling of their Azerbaijan Grand Prix crash last year was "one of the little pieces" that led to him deciding to leave the team.
Verstappen went on to establish an on-track advantage over Ricciardo in 2018, although Ricciardo was also hit by an abnormal number of reliability problems.
In an interview with Australian media outlet EFTM, published this week, Ricciardo was asked about Horner's suggestion he was "running from a fight" with Verstappen.
Ricciardo said: "Firstly, and I'm sure he's not the only one who has that opinion, I can see how people might want to think that or say that.
"Everyone has an opinion. That hasn't been pulled out of nowhere. It is what is – I obviously say no, not true. I love a good fight.
"It was more about me than Max. It was about me, a lot of reasons.
"One, I've stated a few times and I think some people will understand it, I was at Red Bull five years.
"They'd won four world titles and I joined straight after that. In five years, looking from that first year, I'm going to win a world title. That's going to happen.
"It didn't and we never really got close. I'm not bitter about it, that's what happened."
Ricciardo's decision to switch teams aligns him with the works outfit of an engine manufacturer that has been behind F1's benchmarks Mercedes and Ferrari for several years.
However, the seven-time grand prix winner has already made it clear he felt the risk of failure was greater had he stuck with Red Bull for its switch to Honda engines.
In his interview with EFTM, Ricciardo reiterated: "My ability to become more frustrated in this environment was too high and I just don't want to be that kind of unhappy, bitter person that's just always 'what could have been', or 'if only I've joined Red Bull in 2013'.
"So, it wasn't about Max. [But] I understand how some people might think that."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Perez laments his "really limited" F1 test mileage
Next article Alonso has turned down "iconic" race offers
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Scott Mitchell
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Formula 1
Formula 1 Jan 3, 2020
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Formula 1
Formula 1 Jan 3, 2020
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
Formula 1
Formula 1 Jan 3, 2020
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
More from
Daniel Ricciardo
Why Daniel Ricciardo is staying away from the F1 paddock
Formula 1
Formula 1 9 d
Why Daniel Ricciardo is staying away from the F1 paddock
Why Daniel Ricciardo would consider a comeback at Le Mans
WEC
WEC 14 d
Why Daniel Ricciardo would consider a comeback at Le Mans
Does Daniel Ricciardo regret leaving Red Bull for Renault?
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
15 d
Does Daniel Ricciardo regret leaving Red Bull for Renault?
Latest news
Sebastien Bourdais hopes latest WEC success will remind teams of his value
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
1 h
Sebastien Bourdais hopes latest WEC success will remind teams of his value
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 h
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Iker Lecuona felt significant differences between Ducati's GP25 and GP26
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
3 h
Iker Lecuona felt significant differences between Ducati's GP25 and GP26
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe