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Prost surprised by Ricciardo interest

Prost surprised by Ricciardo interest

27-09-2018 14:22

A move that took us all by surprise was Daniel Ricciardo’s announcement that he would be leaving Red Bull and joining Renault, a midfield team in comparison to the on its day race winning Red Bull.

The Australian has been with the team for five seasons and has won seven races, most recently the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix.

However, Ricciardo seemingly became disillusioned by always being nearly at the top and never able to race for the title, so has sought out pastures new with Renault.

Ricciardo will be replacing the McLaren bound Carlos Sainz, with Nico Hulkenberg remaining at the team, creating an interesting and dynamic partnership that could trouble the frontrunners of a good enough car is provided to them.

Renault returned to F1 in 2016 after taking over the struggling Lotus team and after two lean years, the French manufacturer has performed better in 2018 and currently sit fourth in the constructors’ standings with 91 points.

Alain Prost, former four-time champion and Renault team advisor admits he was shocked by the revelation that Ricciardo wanted to join the team.

He said: "We were a bit surprised when he said 'yes, I want to come.'

“He’s going to also allow us to push the team to become even better and better all the time.

“So there’s a little bit more pressure on the team because of him. But in the end it’s positive pressure."