Ricciardo: No regrets after Red Bull victory in Austria

Ricciardo surprised everyone last year by betting on leaving a team capable of winning like Red Bull for a manufacturer whose single-seaters were still lagging behind the big cars on the grid. 

At the dawn of the British Grand Prix, 10th round of the season out of 21, Renault is behind on its passing times by occupying 5th place in the Manufacturers' ranking, 20 points behind McLaren that the Losange supplies with propellants. At the same time, Red Bull and its new engine manufacturer Honda have had a string of solid results, crowned by a triumph of Max Verstappen at the Red Bull Ring, where Ricciardo had crossed the line in a modest 12th place. 

Asked at Silverstone whether he regretted his departure from Milton Keynes given the performance of his ex-team, the Perth native responded in the negative.   

« I have no regrets, declared the seven-time GP winner. I was even happy for the F1, which had received a lot of criticism in the previous weeks. I hope for the sake of the sport that there will be lively races again, without me riding in 12th position. 

If I look in the rearview mirror, I see that Red Bull had three wins last year at this time (two for Ricciardo in China and Monaco, Verstappen in Austria, Editor's note). Obviously, I'm further back on the grid but I expected that. I always said I wanted to challenge for the title and Red Bull doesn't seem able to do that this season, even though they won the last race. This is not an easy attack, this is reality.

Basically, I'm not convinced that I could do more than I already did by staying. With Renault, we are trying to build something together. There is obviously a lot of work left but it is a very rewarding process. ».