Red Bull boss Christian Horner has opened up about Daniel Ricciardo's shock decision to move to Renault at the start of next season.
Christian Horner has revealed that he thought Daniel Ricciardo was "winding him up" when he told him about his decision to move to Renault in time for next season.
"I thought he was winding me up, to be honest with you," Horner told Formula One's official website, referring to the phone call he received with Ricciardo announcing his decision.
"He rang me to say I'm going to Renault. I said 'You what? Is this a wind up for the summer holidays?' But it then became very clear that was his choice and you have to respect that. Renault are a growing team, they're committing resource there.
"I think Daniel decided after a long flight to America, he decided he wanted a chance. You look at the rational reasons for that, it's difficult to understand, but Daniel obviously had his reasons.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I think it comes back to wanting to take on, in his words, a new challenge but I also feel he sees Max (Verstappen) growing and growing in terms of speed and strength and he doesn't want to play a support tole I guess, for want of a better word, not that they are treated in any way differently.
"They would have equal status, as they always had. I could understand if it was to Ferrari or Mercedes, but it's an enormous risk at this stage of his career."
Read more about:
latest news
Miami Grand Prix
Overview
Friday 01.05.26
Practice 1
04:30 PM
Sprint Qualification
08:30 PM
Saturday 02.05.26
Sprint Race
04:00 PM
Qualification
08:00 PM
Sunday 03.05.26
Race
08:00 PM
Friday 01.05.26
Practice 1
Fri 04:30 PM
Sprint Qualification
Fri 08:30 PM
Saturday 02.05.26
Sprint Race
Sat 04:00 PM
Qualification
Sat 08:00 PM
Sunday 03.05.26
Race
Sun 08:00 PM
Times are in your local timezone
Popular on GPBlog
F1-stand 2026
Season
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | WilliamsWIL | 0 | |
2 | Aston MartinAST | 0 | |
3 | MercedesMER | 0 | |
4 | HaasHAA | 0 | |
5 | AudiAUD | 0 | |
6 | CadillacCAD | 0 | |
7 | AlpineALP | 0 | |
8 | AlpineALP | 0 | |
9 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 0 | |
10 | FerrariFER | 0 |
Loading
