Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko claims Daniel Ricciardo didn’t “imagine” joining Renault when considering his Formula 1 future last year.
The Australian is hoping to lead the French manufacturer back to the front in Formula 1, but he has had a troubled start with three retirements in the first four races.
Talking to Motorsport-Total, Marko reflected on the events of last July and how his eventual decision proved such a major curveball.
“The story should have read that he decides in the summer, whether he goes to Ferrari, Mercedes or remains with Red Bull,” the Austrian was quoted by GPFans.com.
“That turned out to be very different from what he imagined, and very different from what the Netflix people wanted it to be.”
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At the time, all speculation was pointing towards a one-year extension at Red Bull for Ricciardo, something Marko would confirm.
“For me, it looked like everything was fine,” he claimed.
“We improved the offer and discussed everything he thought was in need of improvement, including personal sponsors he had from Australia, and that was a relatively long conversation.
“[But] after the Hungary test, I already guessed that it would be no more.”
A combination of concerns of the change to Honda engines and the presence of Max Verstappen have also been alluded to.
But on the decision to join Renault, the Red Bull advisor believes Ricciardo was duped by more big promises.
“Renault is good at that,” Marko stated. “They showed us charts over and over again, showing the engine will be massive next year. He will have just believed it.”
