Daniel Ricciardo insists “everything is cool” with Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul after comments made following news of his exit.
After Sebastian Vettel’s departure from Ferrari was announced, McLaren put one over the Italian team by confirming the Australian would be replacing Carlos Sainz at the team in 2021.
This led to a disgruntled response from Abiteboul, who appeared to criticise Ricciardo when saying “reciprocated confidence, unity and commitment are critical values for a works teams”.
However, when asked about his relationship with the Renault chief, Daniel says it is now behind them.
“I didn’t take it personally,” he told UK broadcaster Channel 4. “I was aware of some articles but I have spoken to him since that and the dust has settled and everything is cool.
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“But also I think that is the competitive spirit you see not just in the drivers but the teams as well. When they believe in something and you want something, you are going to collide somewhere,” Ricciardo explained.
“From my side, there is still a ton of people in this Renault organisation who are happy to have me here and are still excited to see me drive.
“I will be racing for myself because I still want to compete in the race but I still want to give back to them everything I signed up for.
“I guess I’ve been here before with Red Bull. The shock from the news takes a bit of a hit but as time passes everybody just gets back to work. That’s what we’ll do.”
Before being announced at McLaren, the 31-year-old was arguably the best option for Ferrari, given his experience and friendship with Charles Leclerc.
It was also noted that Ricciardo has Italian heritage and somehow that would play a role, so having now been snubbed by the Scuderia, does he feel like they made a mistake by choosing Sainz?
“Time will tell, but it is not really my business,” he replied.
“I get where you are coming from. I’m not going to sit here and say I don’t because everyone for years has been like ‘yeah! Ricciardo is Italian bla bla bla red car’ so I get it from that side but I don’t want to take anything away from Carlos.
“He had a tremendous 2019 and he really established himself so I think he put himself in the driving seat.”
