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Abiteboul: Ricciardo believes in Renault project

17:15, 24 Aug 2018

byJake Williams-Smith

It was the move that had the whole paddock talking during the summer break, Daniel Ricciardo's decision to move to Renault from Red Bull in 2019 came as a surprise to almost everybody in F1. But just how did Renault manage to persuade the Australian to make the switch?

In an interview with Crash.net, Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul revealed that the decision was solely up to Ricciardo and that he truly believes in the project that the French team are part-way through as they look to make their way back to the front of the grid and championship battles.

“There is nothing magic, there is nothing special,” he said. “It’s been a long process, a process that was not completely in our control, because clearly it was up to Daniel to make up his mind.

“He knew for a long time that we had an interest for him. He knew for a long time what was the interest from us, from a commercial perspective but more importantly for our project and where we are standing in our operation, what we have to offer - and what we don’t have to offer yet, that is still in the making.

“We’ve not changed our philosophy. We’ve not changed our promise. We’ve not made a promise that we will not be able to honour next year or the year after. The deal was in hands.

"Since the start, I knew that it would be a long process for him to decide what was the best. I could always understand that it would be a difficult decision to decide to move from Red Bull to anywhere else, first, and from Red Bull to join us. I completely accepted that since day one. Therefore I assumed that it would take him a little bit of time to digest an important decision.”

The move came as such a surprise to his current employers Red Bull that the team had even recorded an announcement video of Ricciardo re-signing with the team. Whether his move produces the results he will be hoping for like Lewis Hamilton's shock move to Mercedes in 2013 remains to be seen but all eyes will be on Renault next year if they continue to make progress since returning to F1.