Daniel Ricciardo now admits leaving Red Bull for Renault in 2019 was a mistake. Speaking on the Beyond The Grid podcast, the Australian said staying would have been his best shot at a world championship. He won seven races with Red Bull but shocked the paddock by leaving after 2018, making Max Verstappen the undisputed lead driver. Verstappen won four straight titles from 2021 while Ricciardo managed one more win—Monza 2021—before his career ended in Singapore last month. Ricciardo won't claim he would have beaten Verstappen but insists he was at his peak in 2018, pointing to Monaco and pole in Mexico as proof. He left seeking something new, trying to shake off complacency. Red Bull wanted him to stay. The what-if doesn't haunt him, he says, before admitting he's "so interested how that would have panned out." The years since argue for staying in a rocketship rather than jumping ship.
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