Ricciardo had sleepless nights: "I knew I had to leave"

Daniel Ricciardo switches from Renault to McLaren this season. The cooperation with the French manufacturer did not work out as hoped and so the Australian took the decision to leave the team.

Important question

The new season of Drive To Survive on Netflix will feature Ricciardo's departure from Renault. In it, the driver explains what made him make the decision to leave Renault to join McLaren.

He asked himself, "'Can I win if all the cars finish?' And it still pains me to say that the honest answer to that is no. Deep down I knew I had to leave."

Sleepless nights

Despite the clear answer to his own question, the process did cause "a few sleepless nights". Moreover, there was something else at play: "I also thought about my age. I'm 31, I can't afford to risk any more years. I just felt McLaren was in a better position than Renault and that drove me to this decision."