Ricciardo has no regrets about switch: 'Everything happens for a reason'

Daniel Ricciardo will have to do without a place in Formula 1 next season. The Australian has failed to reach a high level since leaving Red Bull Racing and will bid farewell to McLaren at the end of the race year. Speaking to De Telegraaf Ricciardo states that the past few years may not have been successful, but they have given him a lot.

"I don't regret leaving Red Bull," he stressed. "People can say it didn't become anything after that, I understand that. I didn't win any titles either, but I learned a lot. That made me better."

Ricciardo did not reach his level

Renault F1 thought it would bring in a strong driver in 2019, but Ricciardo failed to live up to the high expectations. Where he finished ninth in his first season for the racing stable, he finished fifth a year later.

Over the past two seasons, he competed for McLaren, where he was good for eighth and 12th positions. With hindsight, there are therefore sounds that Ricciardo made the wrong choice by leaving Red Bull, but the driver sees it differently.

He stresses that he was very unhappy when he left the team in 2018 and that it was not just about his results. "It may sound profound when I say that I think everything happens for a reason, but I had to break away from my position at the time."