Daniel Ricciardo to join Renault for 2019 F1 season

Last week, Daniel Ricciardo has announced that he will be leaving Red Bull Racing at the end of the 2018 Formula 1 season. Beginning 2019, Ricciardo will be racing for the Renault Sport Formula 1 team instead, joining Nico Hulkenburg as his new teammate after signing a two-year deal. That said, Carlo Sainz will be leaving the French team and it is yet to be known where he will be moving next.

Ricciardo has been with Red Bull Racing since 2014 and has brought 7 victories, 29 podium finishes, 2 pole positions and 904 championship points to date. Prior to that, he has been with the Red Bull family since 2008. The Aussie made his first debut in 2011 with the Red Bull Junior Team at the British Grand Prix. That said, he is also familiar with Renault as his RBR F1 cars have also been powered by Renault engines since 2014.

"We fully respect Daniel’s decision to leave Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and we wish him all the best in his future. We would like to thank him for his dedication and the role he has played since joining the Team in 2014, the highlights of course being the seven wins and the 29 podiums he has achieved so far with us," said Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner.

"It was probably one of the most difficult decisions to take in my career so far. But I thought that it was time for me to take on a fresh and new challenge. I realise that there is a lot ahead in order to allow Renault to reach their target of competing at the highest level but I have been impressed by their progression in only two years, and I know that each time Renault has been in the sport they eventually won. I hope to be able to help them in this journey and contribute on and off track," said Ricciadro.

Despite Ricciardo changing teams next season, Red Bull Racing will continue to maximize every opportunity for both Max Verstappen and Daniel in the remaining nine races in the 2018 Formula 1 season.