Palmer: Renault "a backwards move for Ricciardo"

Daniel Ricciardo loves to do the unexpected, and that’s exactly what he has done with yesterday’s shock announcement that he will be leaving Red Bull after five years with the team, to join Renault. Maybe he just can’t get enough of Renault engines?

The Ricciardo – Red Bull contract saga has been rumbling along for ages until it finally looked like the Australian would re-sign for the Austrian team, only to shock everyone at the last moment.

Red Bull are switching from long term engine supplier Renault to Honda engines for next year, after the Japanese manufacturer’s relative success with sister team Toro Rosso.

One man who knows what it’s like to drive for Renault more than most is Jolyon Palmer.

The Brit spent the best part of two seasons with the French team, scoring nine points, with eight of those coming at last season’s Singapore Grand Prix.

Palmer believes that Ricciardo’s move to Renault is a negative one: "To be honest, it's a backwards move for Ricciardo.

"They're a team that's on the up but they are currently behind, there's no two ways about it."

"He's come into a team that will be really excited to have him. They'll be really pinning a lot of hopes on him to move forwards.

"It's a little bit of the whole dynamic within the team which is better for him at Renault. Even if they're technically a little bit behind."

Is Palmer right with his opinion? Renault are set to invest heavily in a few years so Ricciardo could yet achieve his dream of becoming World Champion.