"I also knew that it was going to come" - Daniel Ricciardo isn't bothered by Red Bull's claims on his exit

Daniel Ricciardo responded to Red Bull F1 team Christian Horner’s claims suggesting that he quit the team at the wrong time. The Australian revealed he does not regret his decision to leave the Milton Keynes outfit and knew they would eventually be frontrunners again.

Speaking exclusively to The Australian newspaper ahead of the Australian GP, Horner said:

“Daniel could see Max in the ascendancy and he didn’t want to become the second driver. We put offers in front of him that were stratospheric..His timing was spectacularly bad because obviously he had doubts about the Honda engine and then [Honda] went on to prove it was a competitive power unit and a race-winning package.”

According to the Red Bull F1 team CEO, the Australian was offered whatever he wanted until he decided to quit the team. Horner suggested that Max Verstappen’s rise as a competitive talent made Daniel Ricciardo want equal status in the team. The Milton Keynes team chief also revealed that their switch to Honda engines was one of the reasons the Australian chose to leave.

Responding to Horner’s claims to the Herald Sun, The Australian said:

“Obviously, I would love to win a title with McLaren and then kind of say ‘I told you so’ or whatever. But I appreciate until that happens then there will probably be that narrative with a lot of people. That’s okay, it doesn’t bother me."

"I also knew that it was going to come with the territory of leaving a big team and obviously at the time I felt like that was the right thing for me.”

After quitting Red Bull, the Australian joined Renault and quit the Enstone team after two seasons by further joining McLaren in 2021. The 32 year old F1 driver's shuffle across the grid has led to a lot of criticism for his stability as a talent. However, Daniel Ricciardo wishes to win races with his current team and revealed that he expected to be criticized after his departure from a top team.

Expressing his thoughts on his career after the Red Bull F1 team, the 32 year old said:

“It’s not something I look back on and regret or think I should have done differently. But I guess as well now Red Bull are back on top or fighting again for the World titles, I knew that would come around as well.. There are also a lot of things internally in the team so it’s not just [about] ‘the car is fast, you should have stayed.”

While he insists he doesn’t regret his departure from Red Bull, the Australian anticipated his former team to be fight for championships again. The Perth-born driver believes it was more than just a fast car and internal matters in the team that made him leave. According to his former team boss, the Western Australian chose the wrong time to quit the team.

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Christian Horner wishes it could have worked out differently between Red Bull and Daniel Ricciardo

While Horner regrets losing Daniel Ricciardo to their team, he revealed they had tried to draw up a contract that helped retain him. However, the British team principal believes that the Australian is a talented driver and wished he had stayed with the team.

Commenting on the Australian’s talent and his departure, Horner said:

“Daniel is a great driver and we were sad when he decided to leave the team here. And it’s unfortunately not worked out for him the way he would have liked.”

While the McLaren driver has had a tough maiden season in 2021, his second season with the team started off with him missing the preseason test in Bahrain after testing positive for Covid19.

Although his new team principal Andreas Seidl has revealed that they have not been able to build a car to justify his talent, the current season might be a make or break year for the former Red Bull talent. Excited to drive at his home race this weekend, Daniel Ricciardo is expecting to claim a top 10 finish a Albert Park.