Why Ricciardo is risking it all with Renault

Getting a Formula 1 driver to pose for the camera can often be as hard as extracting blood from a stone, but Daniel Ricciardo is finding it tricky to keep a straight face. Glaring into the lens is causing fits of giggles. "I can do fake laughing instead," he says to our photographer, bursting into guffaws.

Unless they're doing what they want to do, most F1 drivers can best be described as irritable away from the track. If they're not behind the wheel, then life suddenly becomes a bit of a chore. Has someone remembered to pick up my bag? Does this decaf coffee contain almond milk? Is my PS4 controller charged?

Other drivers struggle to have a conversation beyond what they ate for breakfast. But none of the above apply to Danny Ric. He acts and thinks differently to his fellow racers. He likes a joke, isn't afraid to speak his mind and doesn't believe self-centeredness is a virtue. He even considers Monaco to be a bit "meh".

On this spring morning, Ricciardo is honest and open about his surprising career switch from Red Bull to Renault - a team, remember, that hasn't won a race since 2013 (in its previous guise as Lotus). He bounces into the Enstone factory with a purposeful stride and charismatic zeal. Every request is greeted with zero hassle. And yet, one of the most wearisome phrases you hear is, 'he's too nice to win' or he 'lacks killer instinct.'

Seven grand prix victories and a reputation as one of the best overtakers in the business belittles that argument. Don't be fooled. The laidback, happy-go-lucky demeanour isn't indicative of indifference. There is a ruthless, competitive spirit burning inside the man from Perth and he's deeply passionate about winning.

"There were times last year I thought, 'I just want to get out of here'," he says frankly, about his final season at Red Bull. "I got frustrated and I had to ask myself why, sometimes, do I hate it so much? But the reason is because I care. If Formula 1 meant nothing to me, then I would just shrug my shoulders, walk away and go and party with my friends. But I believe I belong in F1, and belong at the top."

As soon as the flashbulbs have stopped firing, the 29-year old sits down at a table overlooking the Oxfordshire countryside and opens-up about the real reasons for ditching the company that guided his career for nearly half his life.

He also explains rationally, the thinking behind a move to Renault, a decision that was criticised for many reasons. Why drive for the manufacturer that was to blame for many of the engine failings Red Bull suffered since the start of the hybrid era in 2014, when Ricciardo first emerged as a topline F1 driver? Why leave a race-winning, top-three side for a team that hasn't won in six years? Was it just for the money? And after being out-qualified by Max Verstappen in the past two years, why - in the words of Red Bull boss Christian Horner - was he "running away from the fight?"

"He's wrong, but I will defend people's opinion because he hasn't pulled that from nowhere and he's not the first person to say it," states Ricciardo, calmly and assuredly.

"Is there a parallel to what Seb [Vettel] did when I came into Red Bull and beat him [in 2014] with him trying to escape? It's an opinion, but that's not the reason. There were a lot of little factors for me to move on - but it wasn't about Max. I've always wanted a fight and although it sucks being out-qualified by Max, I feel that having a competitor like him does get more out of you.

"I always want to see how good I am, so I always want a strong team-mate. If I do get beat fair and square, then so be it. 
I'll either learn and get better from it or I'll just accept I'm not the best in the world. I've never had a problem with losing. I've never run away from that - so it wasn't about moving on from Max.

"Then everyone says I struggled with Renault for so many years and with Honda coming on board there was a chance to get out of it - why would I choose to go back in? But I thought Honda has had a few years at it and they still have a lot of work to do.

"Renault has work to do also, but they have a few more years advantage. It feels like they could get to that place quicker. If it didn't work with Honda at Red Bull, then what? So actually, it felt like there was a lot more risk staying at Red Bull..."

At the start of 2018, Ricciardo knew he was going to be out of contract at the year's end. Red Bull had already re-signed Verstappen on a big-money, multi-year deal (making him the third best-paid driver in F1) and were keen for Ricciardo to remain as his team-mate.

After Monaco, Ricciardo had won two of the first six races and in his words thought he had
"every option under the sun," until, as he he admits: "Ferrari and Mercedes went on a different path..."

After his manager, Glenn Beavis, spoke with the remaining teams, it came down to a straight choice: stay at Red Bull or make the jump to Renault. Dan's decision surprised many, but dig a little deeper and Ricciardo admits it was a personal decision that reflects his time of life (he turns 30 in July) and his love/hate relationship with Formula 1.

"Yes, it was more of a personal risk for me," Dan admits. "I felt last year there were a lot of highs and lows. You will have seen some post-race interviews where I was pretty down and at times unhappy..."

One example was Baku, where he and Verstappen were criticised for their on-track collision that eliminated them both from the race. Another occasion was the hydraulic failure that ended his Mexican Grand Prix, coming a day after a brilliant qualifying session where he beat his team-mate to pole position by just 0.026 seconds. Afterwards he described the car as "cursed." It was just a week on from an electrical shutdown in Austin which prompted the Australian to punch the wall of his room at the track.

"Austin and Mexico last year really got me down," he adds.
"I had some of my best friends at both of those races and if I didn't care, I would have gone out both Sunday nights and would have thought, it's fine - I'm just getting paid to race cars. But they had to drag me out of my hotel room because I was just miserable. It hurt because I care.

"Some days I think, why the f**k did I choose this sport? When you look at tennis, players very rarely lose a game because of their racket. They beat their opponent because of their performance on that day - it's not the same with racing cars. 
At Red Bull, I felt that if it continued to be a couple more years of frustration, in the same environment, then I was going to end up getting frustrated with the sport and I might just say 'I'm done with this', so I needed a new environment. Period."

Eggs. The yolks are more yellow in the countryside, according to Dan, as he contemplates breakfast. While watching the spring lambs on the rolling Cotswold hills, he knows it'll be the last chance he'll get to enjoy the daylight today. In the hours to come he'll be confined to the windowless simulator room.

He's revelling in his new environment at Enstone, which is in a very different location to the industrial estate of Red Bull's Milton Keynes base. And talk of eggs is apt, since they have long represented a new beginning. A rebirth, for driver and team.

"Three years to reconstruct, three years to challenge," said Renault's tech boss Marcin Budkowski at the RS19 launch. That's been Renault's mantra since they returned full-time at the start of 2016. This year marks a mid-way point and a switch in focus. Building work has expanded Enstone. Staff numbers have nearly doubled - to 700 - and according to team boss Cyril Abiteboul, virtually every single area of the company has "improved or completely transformed".

"From windtunnel instrumentation, milling machines, manufacturing, composites,
race bays, we have improved to compete against the best," says Abiteboul. "In
 Viry-Chatillon (the Parisian power unit HQ) there have been further improvements. We have commissioned a brand-new engine dyno, fully compatible with the proposed 2021 engine regulations and the foundations are in place for a new engine workshop. With clear leadership, we plan to turn all of these ingredients into a race-winning structure."

The regeneration of Renault has taken the team from ninth to sixth to fourth in the constructors' standings, and the goal now is to close on the top three.

With greater investment and a core group of staff that tasted championship success in the past with Fernando Alonso (in 2005 and '06) and a handful still there from Benetton's Michael Schumacher title-winning years of '94 and '95, Renault has the best chance of the chasing pack to make in-roads into the top three.

Talk at the mid-February car launch was bullish and engine boss Remi Taffin described the winter as the "best for five years". The belief is Renault has found an extra 45bhp in qualifying mode and 27bhp for the race mode of its power unit. The final piece in the French firm's jigsaw was hiring a proven race winner to pilot one of its cars.

But the first two races of 2019 have been disappointing for the new partnership, with Ricciardo failing to finish in both Australia and Bahrain.

"When we announced we had Daniel, the reaction inside the factory was unbelievable," says Alain Prost, a special advisor to Renault. "They were very happy and now we need to do the job for him."

"When someone like Daniel wants to race for you, it feels good for everyone in the team," adds Budkowski. "We're on to something here. We're building a project and we believe in it. A few of us met Dan in the summer to convince him to come on board and Cyril [Abiteboul] said that we shouldn't bullshit him. We don't want him to come here for the wrong reasons - we want someone who wants to be part of our project. We were honest about the plan we have."

Ricciardo made his decision to switch teams at the start of last year's summer break, on a flight to the west coast of America. His holiday gave him clarity of thought, and he hasn't regretted his decision, dismissing the suggestion it's a gamble.

When he first toured Enstone alarm bells didn't ring with regards to what he expected to see from a team vying for victories. There was no concern that areas of manufacturing or machining needed fixing.

"Even before I signed, I saw this team meant business and they are not here just to be on the grid to show their brand: they want to win," says Ricciardo. "I'd seen their trajectory in the past few years and with their infrastructure here, and also in Viry - I know that Remi was buoyed by the pre-season - that it was the right time to take on this challenge.

"For a driver it's not the easiest thing to think long-term because we want to win today, rather than tomorrow. So, that's a different kind of mentality.

"At Red Bull, there was always the expectation that we were 'going to win this year', then having that come up short was always a bit wearing.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't think coming here is going to be an easier thing - it will be a bigger challenge [being in the midfield] - but being part of the process and progress will be more rewarding. Yes, I want to win every race, but if you change your level, it's all relative. I still feel being here will get me the quickest success in the shortest amount of time."

The other dynamic in Ricciardo's defection to Renault has been the sting that Red Bull boss Christian Horner felt in losing a prized asset to his bitterest rivals. As a dissatisfied Renault engine customer, Horner was critical of the French manufacturer.

In the recently released Netflix F1 documentary, Horner can be seen asking Abiteboul how he'll pay for engine development now all his money has been spent on Ricciardo. But at Renault's 2019 launch, Abiteboul said securing the Dan's services was a statement of intent, and he shoulders the responsibility for the recruitment.

"How could I stand in front of the factory and try to motivate everyone if there is one of the best drivers out there and we don't go for him?" said Abiteboul. "What does that mean? It means you don't believe in yourself. We couldn't let that opportunity pass."

While Ricciardo has admitted his frustrations were mounting at Red Bull, he has to be careful the new ride doesn't emulate Fernando Alonso's McLaren experience - a talented race winner stuck in the doldrums of the midfield and becoming disenchanted with F1.

"The best way we're preparing for that is to be extremely transparent," says Abiteboul, when quizzed on managing Ricciardo's expectations. "I've not made any personal commitment that we'll be able to race for wins. He knows that, but he also knows that his job is not just necessarily to drive a car to win, but to build an organisation that will be capable of winning, if possible, next year. If not, the year after. He knows that and he likes this challenge."

2021 will be the final year in Renault's six-year reconstruct-and-challenge plan and the hope is Dan will continue beyond his two-year deal into the new F1 era for '21.

Given the championship owner's aim to rein in budgets and level the technical playing field, it might be Ricciardo's best chance of ultimate success in F1, which he admits can be unfair. Tennis it ain't.

"If I left F1 today, I'd be quite disappointed with my career because I wouldn't have got that which I believe I can get - which is world titles," he says, as his time to drive the simulator nears. "If we can close the gap this year, get podiums in 2020 and then in 2021... I've got to wait a few years to really win, but this is by no means a backwards step and I'm not settling now and taking a pay cheque just to drive around every second weekend.

"It's not as if the honey badger is fading away - if anything this will spark me for the next few years to keep doing what I love."

By his own admission, Ricciardo needed to break free from Red Bull to prevent him becoming jaded with F1.

But he needs Renault to be successful to avoid falling into the same trap again. He's motivated by the challenge and can see Renault has the resources and people to push for wins in the future. But to help, F1 needs to be fairer to ensure stars like Ricciardo don't walk away disheartened, just as Alonso did. Ricciardo's sunny demeanour is too valuable an asset for F1 to lose.

The Hulkenberg conundrum

If there's one driver on the grid who understands the inequitable status between talent and results in F1, it's Ricciardo's new team-mate Nico Hulkenberg. As a Formula 3, A1GP and GP2 champion, and a Le Mans 24 Hours winner, how is it that he has not a single F1 podium to his name in his eight seasons and over 150 starts?

"When I moved to Europe in 2007, he was one of the young drivers making a name for himself," says Ricciardo.
 "I knew straight away he was very good and people who follow racing recognise he's one of the top drivers - he's just never been in a winning team to get the podiums he deserves.

"I think the rivalry we'll have will be really strong," Dan continues. "There'll be no BS. We'll push each other and our experience should help the team grow. People will look at the stats and say: 'well he has no podiums so Ricciardo will beat him easily'. Actually, it's his real chance to prove people wrong and beat a race-winning driver to remind people how good he is.

"This year should bring the best out of him and that excites me because I think we'll get the best Nico we have ever seen. If I can beat him that puts me in a good light and if he beats me then it's going to make people think of him higher - I'm excited by that challenge."

The big chance that never came

After Ricciardo won last year's Chinese Grand Prix via a series of notable on-track passes on Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas, his stock was sky high. There followed speculation that a pre-contract agreement had been made with Ferrari.

Although he grew up in Western Australia, Dan's father Joe was originally from Italy and during his career, Ricciardo Jr has never shied away from talking about what it would mean for him to drive one of the red cars.

"There were stories at the beginning of last year and even Christian [Horner] asked me about it," says Ricciardo. "They thought [the Ferrari deal] was serious and I'd love to say it was and I was close, but it was all rumours. I did speak to nearly every team on the grid, but even with Ferrari there was never a contract in front of me."

When Mercedes extended its deals with both Hamilton and Bottas, that too became an avenue quickly closed off to Ricciardo. While the door is shut on the top two teams for now, you do wonder whether one day, post Vettel, Ferrari is still in his sights.

As Nico Rosberg said last season when the rumours first appeared: "A decent Italian driver - at Ferrari - that would be so big."