Daniel Ricciardo admits he has considered how he’d react if Max Verstappen won the Formula 1 championship in 2019.
The Australian has left Red Bull and taken a gamble on Renault’s long-term prospects, citing his own motivation and the uncertainty of Honda’s engine as his former team switches to the Japanese manufacturer.
While he may have had his own doubts, Ricciardo has prepared himself for the possibility of being proven wrong and watching his ex-teammate achieving the success he ultimately craves.
“Actually, as part of the decision-making for me, I put myself in the mindset of ‘what if Honda and Red Bull kill it, and what if Max becomes world champion?’ he told Racer.
“So I had already played that through my head and become OK with it, or come to terms with it.”
The reason why the 29-year-old believes he wouldn’t feel any regrets…
“I think at the end of the day, the way I saw it was one of the big things that led me back was I just felt like I needed change regardless,” the seven-time Grand Prix winner said.
“Even if the team kills it in 2019, I don’t know if I would be convinced that I would be getting everything out of it if that makes sense.
“So I’ve come to terms with however it’s going to play out, and I believe regardless it’s the right thing for me.”
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Another reason some have pointed to in Ricciardo’s decision to move is the lucrative contract that Renault offered, which is thought to be worth more than Red Bull was.
Managing director of the French company’s F1 operation Cyril Abiteboul has defended the cost, however.
“There is a considerable financial commitment from Renault,” he confirmed to Motorsport.com.
“But it is not a question of whether Renault can afford it: it can definitely afford it as our turnover is 40 times the turnover of Red Bull. There is no question mark about that.
“The question mark is about the value. Does it make sense to invest that type of money in a driver at the level of Daniel at this point of our journey, with the car that we have and the other expense that we must do? We believe so.
“There has been some discussion about that. Would we be better off investing in the car or the drivers? I think we have reached a point where we can invest in both reasonably.”