Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has revealed Daniel Ricciardo had the contract he requested in front of him to remain with the team in 2019 but opted not to sign it.
This weekend has seen the fallout from the Australian’s surprise decision to join Renault for next season during the summer break with a spat between Horner and Fernando Alonso an unexpected consequence.
Teammate Max Verstappen also offered his own scepticism to Ricciardo’s explanation of wanting a “change of scenery” at the French manufacturer, but now the Red Bull chief has revealed exactly how the whole story played out.
“The way the momentum had been going, we’d been talking since February about this,” he told Sky Sports.
“Dietrich [Mateschitz, Red Bull owner] got involved round Barcelona. By the time we got to the Austrian Grand Prix, the whole lot looked pretty much there.
“There was an agreement in principle. It was about sorting out the paperwork and over Hockenheim and Hungary that happened.
“Daniel then decided after Hungary that he wanted a one-year deal. Dietrich agreed to that, and so by Monday afternoon, he [Daniel] got the piece of paper he wanted sitting in front of him.”
Motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has previously stated that Ricciardo told the team he would sign during that post-race test but that did not happen.
“He drove the car on Tuesday in the test in Hungary, and then I think the flight to America on holiday he decided actually he wanted, despite having everything that he’d asked for, that it still didn’t feel right and that he wanted to do something else,” Horner said.
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The Briton admits such was the surprise of the 29-year-old’s U-turn, and given his jokey nature, it took him quite a while to actually believe Ricciardo when he said he would be leaving.
“I thought he was winding me up to begin with. I thought it was a joke for the summer holiday. I was expecting the paperwork to be signed. He’d even recorded a message announcing his renewal.
“But the third time he told me I realised it for was real. You just have to wish him well. He’s been a great, great driver for us in our team and we’ll be disappointed to see him leave.”
