Hamilton defends Ricciardo's Renault switch

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has described Daniel Ricciardo's 2019 switch from Red Bull to Renault as "brave" but supports the Aussie's decision.

Ricciardo announced recently that he would be making the switch from Red Bull to Renault at the start of next season and Hamilton has come out and defended the Australian driver, following lots of criticism and confusion.

It looked as if Ricciardo's Red Bull contract extension was all but done, with Christian Horner even admitting that the announcement video was recorded and ready to upload before Ricciardo's change of heart, which shocked the Formula One world.

Hamilton appears to be one of the few people that understand and back Ricciardo's risk that he is taking.

"I'm really happy for him," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. "It's always brave to make a decision that's out of the norm, knowing that people are going to have opinions about it, and still halfway through a season not knowing how the next year's going to go.

"It's an exciting period for him. A lot of people in life are scared of change, of what's different, and therefore get stuck in a space that's not their happiest space but they get by.

"It's cool to see that Daniel, similar to me, is wanting to elevate himself, wanting to try something new, and learn from it - good or bad, and take the risk."