Budkowski admits Ricciardo will be missed on and off the track

Daniel Ricciardo will be missed by his current employer Renault F1 Team. The Australian will make the transition to McLaren for the 2021 season. Renault F1 chief Marcin Budkowski has admitted the team will miss their number one driver.

Ricciardo is going to be missed

After two years at Renault, Ricciardo will move to McLaren, to replace Ferrari bound, Carlos Sainz. The Australian left Red Bull Racing to join Renault in 2019 but his time with the team will come to an end after the final three races of the season. After a year of building with the team, he was able to reap some rewards in 2020.

The fact that Ricciardo and Renault were doing well is the reason why the Honey Badger will be missed within the French ranks. Motorsport-Total.com quoted Budkowksi as saying: "He is top form and he drives incredibly well. This is reflected in the results of the team, but also in his personal results. Of course we are going to miss him here.

McLaren getting a great deal

McLaren can be happy with their new acquisition from 2021. Together with Lando Norris the driver duo guarantees a good atmosphere. Budkowski continued: "We are also going to miss his character. When Daniel enters a room, the atmosphere suddenly improves because he laughs a lot and has a contagious enthusiasm."