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#1 Daniel Ricciardo signing up with Renault
Daniel Ricciardo was one among the few hot commodities on the grid who had the expiration dates on their contracts nearing. Red Bull Racing wanted to develop the team around Max Verstappen, as they had claimed before trying to gloss over their own words. They had also renewed the Dutch driver’s contract to retain him till at least 2021.
It was not hidden that Daniel was looking elsewhere for a seat but soon it was evident that neither Mercedes nor Ferrari were too forthcoming to seal a deal with the Australian. The whispers about talks with McLaren and Renault were heard, but not too many paid heed to them because why would Daniel want to leave Red Bull for either of those teams?
As it turned out, the pitch that Cyril Abiteboul, the managing director of Renault F1, gave Ricciardo was enough for him to sign on the dotted line with the French manufacturers, but it left a lot of people astonished. Arguably, driving for a factory team is an advantage and Renault have history on their side. Only time will tell what fate has in store for Daniel.
