F1
Nate Saunders, General Editor, F1 6y

Red Bull: Daniel Ricciardo told us he would sign a new deal

Formula 1, AutoRacing

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko says Daniel Ricciardo told him he would sign a contract extension just days before calling back to say he was moving to Renault.

Ricciardo shocked Red Bull in the days after the Hungarian Grand Prix by agreeing to switch teams for 2019. That move followed months of negotiations with Red Bull over a contract extension, which had appeared to be a formality when F1 entered the summer break in August. 

Ricciardo agreed to the Renault deal on the Wednesday after the grand prix, just a day after taking part in the post-race test session at the Budapest circuit. The calls to the likes of Marko and Red Bull boss Christian Horner took place the following day.

Red Bull insists the offer it gave Ricciardo included everything he had been asking for throughout the negotiations.

Marko, the man who oversees the company's driver programme, says Ricciardo had led him and other senior management to believe that the offer presented to him would be accepted. He assumes that his final decision came down to a lack of faith in Red Bull's imminent switch from Renault to Honda power for 2019 and the financial package offered to him by Renault.

"I don't understand it," Marko told Austrian TV station Servus. "It was a very strange situation anyhow.

"The negotiations were difficult but Wednesday before the Austrian Grand Prix we were talking for two hours and came to an agreement. During the weekend, we were talking and renegotiating again.

"In Hungary, he told Mr. [Red Bull owner, Dietrich] Mateschitz and me that he was OK with everything and that he was going to sign during the test on Tuesday. But he didn't.

"On Thursday, he then called and told me he was going to Renault. I can only assume that maybe he doesn't believe in the Honda project or that Renault offered him a lot of money."

A source close to Ricciardo has refuted Marko's claim, telling ESPN that although a deal was put forward and an agreement was close, nothing was agreed with Red Bull at any point.

Ricciardo's first official media appearances since the news was announced will be later this week ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, giving him his first chance to respond to the claims in person and lay out his version of events. 

On Monday, Red Bull confirmed Toro Rosso driver Pierre Gasly will be promoted to the senior team next year to replace Ricciardo. 

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