November 9th 2023.
Christian Horner, the boss of Red Bull, has opened up about Daniel Ricciardo's departure from the Formula One team in 2018.
Ricciardo had been with the team for four years, but feeling that he was playing second fiddle to Max Verstappen, he decided to leave and join Renault. Unfortunately, that decision didn't work out and he eventually returned to Red Bull as a reserve driver.
Horner said that he knew Ricciardo was starting to think about a bigger pond and he had a lot of noise in his ear about the money he could get from other teams.
He added that he asked their owner Dietrich Mateschitz to show Ricciardo some love and he did that after the race in Austria. He offered the Aussie whatever Verstappen was on, which was $10 million-a-year.
Horner then said that Ricciardo called him and said he wasn't going to sign the contract but was going to Renault. He thought he was joking at first, but eventually realised he was serious and it was very disappointing for him.
Ricciardo moved to McLaren in 2020, and it was around that time he admitted to Horner that he had made a mistake. Horner said they had always had a good relationship and that Ricciardo was badly advised at the time.
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