Ricciardo criticism continues: 'He has changed after leaving Red Bull'

F1 News

Martin Brundle on criticism of Ricciardo and leaving red bull
12 June at 17:30
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  • Sandy van Wijngaarden

During the Canadian Grand Prix, Jacques Villeneuve frequently voiced his criticism towards Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian reacted to these statements again in the media. Now, Sky Sports analyst Martin Brundle is also getting involved in this battle.

Daniel Ricciardo has been in a difficult period of his career for some time. After his success at Red Bull, the Australian then tried his hand at several F1 teams. Things still went reasonably well at Renault, but with the McLaren team, the always-cheerful Ricciardo seemed less happy.

After a time out from F1, he was allowed to re-enter the car of the current Visa Cash App RB team. Jacques Villeneuve was a guest analyst on Sky Sports in Canada, where he harshly criticised the 34-year-old. Among other things, the Canadian questioned why Ricciardo is still in Formula 1.

Ricciardo should not have left Red Bull Racing

Martin Brundle is now also getting involved in the issue. In his column for Sky Sports, he writes the following: "I have a fundamental respect for all F1 drivers, not least for Daniel and Jacques, because I know how hard it is to drive such fearsome cars under that spotlight."

Brundle especially talks a lot about Ricciardo leaving Red Bull Racing in 2018. "I wish he'd not left Red Bull at the end of 2018. That was an emotional and flawed decision, he should have faced up to Max in the best car, and then he'd have necessarily raised his game even further. Ricciardo never seemed to be quite the same driver again. He clearly still does have speed and race craft, as we witnessed also in the Miami Sprint, but something in his psyche or approach is holding that back and it's costing him opportunity and longevity," Brundle said.

This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy