Formula 1 legend retraces Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren demise to leaving Red Bull four years ago

Formula 1 pundit Martin Brundle believes Daniel Ricciardo’s career never recovered from his ill-fated decision to leave Red Bull in 2018.

The Australian won seven races in five seasons with the Milton Keynes-based team, finishing third in the Drivers’ Championship in 2014 and 2016.

Following the arrival of Max Verstappen in 2016, however, Ricciardo felt his influence on the team wane in favour of the Dutch driver and opted to leave Red Bull two years later to join Renault.

Daniel Ricciardo will leave McLaren at the end of the season, a year earlier than expected

‘He shouldn’t have left Red Bull, that’s how it looks to me. The Renault move was the wrong move for him,’ Brundle told Sky Sports.

‘He didn’t fancy staying around what he thought was team [Max] Verstappen, which there was an element of truth in that. It’s just played out badly all the way along, hasn’t it?’

After a largely unsuccessful two-season spell with the French team, Ricciardo joined McLaren at the beginning of 2021 on a three-year deal. 

The Australian secured McLaren’s first win in nine years when he triumphed at the Italian Grand Prix last year, but was regularly outperformed by teammate Lando Norris.

Sky F1’s analyst Martin Brundle believes Ricciardo has lost his mojo in the past four years

The Briton claimed four podium finishes to Ricciardo’s one and the pattern has continued this season, with Norris racking up 76 points in the first 13 rounds to the Australian’s 19 season. 

On Wednesday, McLaren announced it had reached an agreement to move on from Ricciardo at the end of the year, ending months of speculations over his future.

Brundle suggested Ricciardo’s travails over the last four years must have been painful to endure for the 32-year-old. 

‘He’s lost his mojo,’ he said.

Ricciardo ended McLaren’s nine-year wait for a F1 win at Monza last year 

‘When I see Daniel starting outside the top 10 and running outside the top 10 all afternoon, that’s not him and that’s not where he’s at.

‘We know he’s better than that and I find that painful to watch. 

‘I can’t imagine how painful it’s been for Daniel to be in that car falling backwards through the field.

‘Maybe it’s all a bit of blessed relief all around and it’ll come back around and show his mettle.’

The Australian won seven races in five seasons with Red Bull before leaving in 2018

But he felt the team’s focus switched firmly towards Max Verstappen (right) after the Dutchman joined Red Bull in 2016

Brundle, however, admitted McLaren had made the right call by deciding to replace Ricciardo a year earlier than planned.

‘If I was McLaren I would have been doing the same thing because he’s struggling to get pace and you can’t take that for another 18 months,’ he said.

‘I would have done exactly the same thing. How they’ve done it, they’ve made an agreement, this is a tough business.’ 

Ricciardo has regularly been outscored by his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris (left) 

Following news of his impending departure from McLaren, Ricciardo admitted he could take a year away from the sport, an option which Brundle feels may be the best course of action.

‘Daniel didn’t convince me […] that he wants to stay on the grid, that he wanted to go to Alpine, or anywhere else,’ he added.

‘I think he potentially does, but I saw a bit of a broken man, I didn’t see ‘I’m going to win a race this year. 

‘I am going to be on the grid next year. I’ll show them they’ve made the wrong decision here.’