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What does Ricciardo’s McLaren sidestep mean for his F1 career?

Daniel Ricciardo's decision to leave Renault for McLaren, on the face of it, is a switch from one midfield team to another. But with McLaren's upwardly-mobile outlook, it could be a better fit for the Australian - and has the potential to be a success

Luke Smith May 14, 2020, 3:14 PM

No Formula 1 silly season drama would be complete without Daniel Ricciardo playing a big role.

When news broke of Sebastian Vettel's exit from Ferrari, Ricciardo was quickly touted as a potential replacement. He had been subject to interest from Ferrari in the past, and would bring some race winning, star quality to the team in place of the outgoing Vettel.

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Author Luke Smith

Luke Smith is Autosport’s Formula 1 reporter. Luke has been working in F1 as a journalist since 2013, initially alongside a History degree at University College London. Luke served as the lead F1 writer at American broadcaster NBC Sports from 2013-17 before spending two years as the F1 Editor for Crash.net. Luke joined Autosport for the 2020 season.

Luke is also a contributor to The New York Times for its F1 special reports, and has previously worked with Al Jazeera and CNBC, as well as hosting FIA press conferences. Outside of F1, Luke is a fan of sports and music, with an ever-growing vinyl collection, and has being bitten by the running bug in recent years. He also runs a surprisingly popular blog reviewing the often-terrible media centre coffee from his F1 travels.