Renault believes Red Bull’s decision not to allow Daniel Ricciardo to test their 2018 car in Abu Dhabi proves they are “afraid” of their potential.
Of the six drivers swapping teams for this season, the Australian was the only one not granted permission for an early outing with his new employers during the post-season Pirelli tyre test at Yas Marina.
It was another example of how poor the relations have become between the former championship-winning partners, with Red Bull boss Christian Horner citing Ricciardo’s contract, which didn’t expire until December 31, as the reason for saying no.
Now though, Renault executive director Marcin Budkowski has revealed their new driver has started work at Enstone.
“He’s been in the simulator, he’s been with the engineers. It’s difficult when he hasn’t driven the car,” he told Autosport. “We would have loved him to drive the car in Abu Dhabi but we couldn’t make that happen.
“We’re disappointed that we couldn’t get his feedback on last year’s car because it would have been very useful to us. There are always things that you learn from the interaction with a driver.”
It was then the former FIA technical director suggested that Red Bull’s reason for not allowing Ricciardo to run went beyond just contracts.
“The fact it didn’t happen, without pointing fingers, is quite flattering to us because it means other people are afraid of us and don’t want to give us anything that could be a competitive advantage,” he said.
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Renault has been reporting significant gains during the winter and is hoping Red Bull’s switch to Honda engines may leave them vulnerable to be caught.
Budkowski then continued by explaining how Ricciardo’s arrival will only continue pushing the French manufacturer forward.
“He is a race winner. He is bringing us an experience that we don’t have in the team today,” he stated.
“He has been working with a top team for a number of years, so he will bring us some understanding in terms of direction and development of the car [as well as] the setup of the car, which is useful learning for us.
“It has been a huge motivation boost for everyone at the team to have someone like Daniel coming, obviously because he is Daniel, the driver and person he is.
“[The fact he] believes in our project and joins our organisation at this stage says a lot, and also says a lot about what we are trying to build here, it all goes together.”