Daniel Ricciardo to Renault - A Huge Risk?

It was announced on 4th August that Daniel Ricciardo would be leaving the Red Bull team and joining Renault for the 2019 F1 season.

He is leaving the team he's been with for 11 years, and who have given him seven Grand Prix wins, for the team who provide the shoddy engines that have been a major factor in the fact he hasn't challenged for the world title yet.

But with Max Verstappen the third highest paid driver on the grid, he may have felt like the time was right to move on, because even if Red Bull were to give him a championship-winning car, then they may heavily favour the young Dutchman when push came to shove.

Whatever way you look at the situation, it's a bold move. Renault rejoined F1 in 2016 after a four-year absence and are yet to score a podium on their return, but quotes from Ricciardo reveal that he believes they are well on their way to challenging for race wins:

"There is a lot ahead in order to allow Renault to reach their target of competing at the highest level but I have been impressed by their progression in only two years.

"Each time Renault has been in the sport they eventually won. I hope to be able to help them in this journey and contribute on and off track."

But just how close are they and how fast have they been improving?

Lewis Hamilton shocked the world when he left McLaren in 2012 to join Mercedes. The German team hadn't exactly been struggling but nor had they set the world alight with their performances since taking over Brawn GP in 2010, finishing fifth in the 2012 Constructors Table with Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg at the wheel.

But Hamilton finished fourth in the Driver's standings the next year before the team went on to dominate the next five years of F1.

Renault seems to be on an upward trajectory

It seemed like the Brit knew something we all didn't when he made his move, and Ricciardo may have something up his sleeve too. Renault finished ninth in 2016 with Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen in the paddock but upped their game in 2017 with Nico Hulkenberg scoring the majority of the team's points as they finished sixth.

This year Hulkenberg, paired with a more competent teammate in Carlos Sainz, are comfortably in fourth place, and I wouldn't be surprised if they managed to claim a podium or two before the season is done.

So the manufacturer is definitely on an upward trajectory, and with new regulations coming into force in 2019, the gap to the dominance of the Mercedes and Ferrari engines may be somewhat bridged.

And as for Ricciardo's claim that Renault has won each time they entered F1. How meaningful is this and how long did it take them in each case?

Renault's first F1 season was nominally 1977, although they only had one driver, Jean-Pierre Jabouille, and he only entered five races, without finishing a single one.

The next year he remained the sole driver, but he competed in a majority of races and picked up a fourth place in the USA.

Alain Prost was one of the best drivers in Renault's history

1979, the first year the team had two drivers, they managed to win a race (Jabouille at home in France) and finished sixth in the championship.

The following year they won three more races, after which they enlisted the talents of soon-to-be-four-time world champion Alain Prost, who lead them to consecutive third-place finishes in the constructor's championship, before reaching a pinnacle with both Prost and the team finishing runners-up in 1983.

Two years later they would leave the sport apart from as an engine provider, until 2002.

They would finish fourth that year, with Fernando Alonso taking their first win in 2003. A third-place finish in 2004 would prelude two years of glory for the French team, with Alonso leading them to two consecutive driver's and constructor's titles.

This incarnation of Renault started off a bit slower than the last time, but if they continue on their current trajectory, Ricciardo can hope for at least a few podiums next season, before truly finding out whether he signed up for the real deal in 2020, when the team are projected to start winning multiple races. Now if only they could sort out those pesky engines.