Daniel's career trajectory took a turn when he left RB. Rather than persevere with a team which he deemed unstable (despite having driven for them for years), he chose to take control of his own destiny and seek a number one seat at Renault (because lets be honest, Max is always going to be Number One at RB). In my opinion, Staying at Renault would have been the better option at this point. He was clearly the senior driver. After Hulkenberg left and Ocon came in, he had his run of choosing how the car was developed to suit his style of driving. He was loved by Cyril and the team. He had everything he needed to create a multi-year path with consistency and top results. I think greed got the better of him here. Daniel has always seemed to lack patience to me - he's so desperate to win a world championship, that the moment something becomes hard for him or he perceieves any kind of struggle, he will just move on rather than persisting. This was true at RB (he wasn't considered number one) and Renault (Where he wanted consistent top 5's like the RB days). Now he's at MCL, where Lando is the number one driver AND the car is built around Lando's driving style. Ricci is getting on a bit now (he's been competing in F1 for over a decade) and he's trying to race against younger and less risk adverse opponents. MCL expected results from him, as they have been a team on the up over the past couple of years, and Zac will be seeking to remove obstacles to them climbing higher in the constructers, including his own drivers. Is the '36 a great car? No, but it isn't horrific either - Lando is showing that consistently. I like Danny. He's a cool guy with a great attitude and good for the sport. But if you look at it from Zac's perspective: If his driver isn't getting results, and its to the detriment of the team, then maybe its time for a new driver...
All good points but I think you're incorrect to base his leaving Renault as purely greed. Daniel was confident and committed going into Renault - and the work showed. The real problem, in my eyes, was the evident inner turmoil of the team during that time. Most of these events occurred after Daniel had left but I think its fair to say they didn't happen overnight and there was likely a number of issues leading up to this. Cyril was quickly let go when the Renault and Alpine CEOs came together; Alain Prost left the team in what was shown to be a bit of a fiery exchange after holding the advisory role from 2017; Marcin Budkowski promptly left the team without ever officially becoming TP. For context Budkowski was previously Head of F1 Technical Dept and had to actually withhold getting too involved in the team because of that until 2019, even then he served as de facto TP alongside Brivio in 2021 - and that was because Cyril was unexpectedly let go. So realistically you have a team who lost its long-standing TP, lost its quadruple WDC advisor, and actually created a situation where its intended new TP couldn't take up the role because they fired Abiteboul at an incredibly bad time. To top it all off there's still rumous that Briatore could find employment of some capacity in Alpine despite his lifetime ban for fixing the 2009 Singapore GP (and we can probably consider the other nonsense he was up to and his previous cheating scandal(s)). The point I'm trying to make is these are all very indicative of a hostile and poorly managed environment. Laurent Rossi himself even went on to say the "Renaulution" (actual word used by him...) effectively required an "out with the old, in with the new" (paraphrasing, of course) approach. So whilst the team look strong at the minute - and Danny could've really honed in on a tailor-made car if he stayed - I think no one in their right mind would hinge on something like that while the team was in such a state. Again, a lot of this didn't happen till after he left but it certainly didn't happen overnight and I fully believe Danny could see the issues, or they were simply visible to staff, before they truly hit boiling point. I think the likelihood is any driver in the same circumstances, with the ability to move on, would be looking at moving away from that environment.
In Baku Ricciardo could have been much further up, maybe has as high as P4, or likely P5 if McLaren hadn’t hold him up behind Norris in his first stint on the hard tyres. Had they let him past, Norris could have held up Gasly and Hamilton for a couple of laps and given Ricciardo a buffer and track position for his pit stop. McLaren knew this, which is why there were team orders at the end for Norris to stay behind - he didn’t hold Ricciardo up for a lap as Norris claimed in the post-race interviews, it was most of his first stint up until he pitted letting Ricciardo past. Strategy has a lot more to do with results in F1 than a lot of people realise & if not for some bad luck with the Sainz accident in Imola (Ricciardo got blamed for it, but Sainz did put the Ferrari in a pretty risky position on the outside with cold tyres on the first lap where he should have backed out) , the gap between the two drivers would not be what it currently is.
Yeah it would really interesting to see how Gasly could manage driving two cars in one season. Could you imagine him getting pole in the Merc then coming back out and beating it in the McLaren ? 😂😂
DR will stay at McLaren for 2023. Yes the results haven't been the greatest in the 1st half of a season with new cars/teams etc but he does get his way back there. 1st season at a big team in RB and did big things against 4x WDC Vettel. 3 season against Max and he beat him for two of them. 1st season at Renault and beat existing team mate and respected Hulkenberg 2nd full season at Renault (no big car changes) and he finished P5 (6 points off P4)in the standing in a car that was P5 in the constructors. Over doubled Ocon's points. 1st season at McLaren, got their 1st win in forever in the back half of the season.(new team+car+driving style required) 2nd season at McLaren, we are less than half way through. (New car+driving style required) Yes i'm Australian and legally obligated to support Danny Ric and might be cherrypicking some stats to make my case but look how the 2nd seat at RB has fared since his departure, Ocon who DR beat at Renault is ahead of Alonso in the standings this year and was only 10% or so behind in points last year. Imagine an alternate reality where McLaren kept Carlos Sainz and Ferarri replaced Vettel with Ricciardo. Sainz would have been on pace with Norris and with a car philosophy he was used to. What could Danny Ric have done at Ferarri against Charles who until 2020 was just beating Vettel. The simple answer is that the McLaren just isn't working in Danny Ric's more than capable hands, its worked in others hands and he's used other tools to show how good he is.
Hmm, I wonder if the two McLaren outfits (F1 and Indy) might swap drivers. Danny Ric has a lot of popularity stateside, so it would make sense. That said Pato O'Ward just signed a contract until '25 and getting him might be tricky.
@@LottieTalksF1 that might be so, but with the exception of Herta, who's probably counting on being in Andretti if that team ever gets a green light by F1, I don't know if there is an Indy driver immediately ready for transition. I just hope to see Pato in the F1 paddock at some point. He's a beast.
I don't understand it Lottie, Rics has gone from constantly challenging Seb at Red Bull to basically F1 furniture ?. I have heard this "I am not feeling the car" thing for a few years now. His place at McLaren is defo looking sketchy...contracts or not.
@@LottieTalksF1 One last thing here Lottie, I heard to day the Piastri might be going on loan to Williams. That dude has won everything, F2 world champ, F3 world champ, this champ, that champ, going right back to karting. I know you have spoken about him before but I didn't realise what a record he had. In a decent car...he will excel.
Daniel's career trajectory took a turn when he left RB. Rather than persevere with a team which he deemed unstable (despite having driven for them for years), he chose to take control of his own destiny and seek a number one seat at Renault (because lets be honest, Max is always going to be Number One at RB).
In my opinion, Staying at Renault would have been the better option at this point. He was clearly the senior driver. After Hulkenberg left and Ocon came in, he had his run of choosing how the car was developed to suit his style of driving. He was loved by Cyril and the team. He had everything he needed to create a multi-year path with consistency and top results.
I think greed got the better of him here. Daniel has always seemed to lack patience to me - he's so desperate to win a world championship, that the moment something becomes hard for him or he perceieves any kind of struggle, he will just move on rather than persisting. This was true at RB (he wasn't considered number one) and Renault (Where he wanted consistent top 5's like the RB days).
Now he's at MCL, where Lando is the number one driver AND the car is built around Lando's driving style. Ricci is getting on a bit now (he's been competing in F1 for over a decade) and he's trying to race against younger and less risk adverse opponents. MCL expected results from him, as they have been a team on the up over the past couple of years, and Zac will be seeking to remove obstacles to them climbing higher in the constructers, including his own drivers. Is the '36 a great car? No, but it isn't horrific either - Lando is showing that consistently.
I like Danny. He's a cool guy with a great attitude and good for the sport. But if you look at it from Zac's perspective: If his driver isn't getting results, and its to the detriment of the team, then maybe its time for a new driver...
Thanks for sharing. There’s a good debate to be had on whether Ric should have stayed at Red Bull, Renault or joined McLaren
All good points but I think you're incorrect to base his leaving Renault as purely greed. Daniel was confident and committed going into Renault - and the work showed. The real problem, in my eyes, was the evident inner turmoil of the team during that time. Most of these events occurred after Daniel had left but I think its fair to say they didn't happen overnight and there was likely a number of issues leading up to this.
Cyril was quickly let go when the Renault and Alpine CEOs came together; Alain Prost left the team in what was shown to be a bit of a fiery exchange after holding the advisory role from 2017; Marcin Budkowski promptly left the team without ever officially becoming TP. For context Budkowski was previously Head of F1 Technical Dept and had to actually withhold getting too involved in the team because of that until 2019, even then he served as de facto TP alongside Brivio in 2021 - and that was because Cyril was unexpectedly let go.
So realistically you have a team who lost its long-standing TP, lost its quadruple WDC advisor, and actually created a situation where its intended new TP couldn't take up the role because they fired Abiteboul at an incredibly bad time. To top it all off there's still rumous that Briatore could find employment of some capacity in Alpine despite his lifetime ban for fixing the 2009 Singapore GP (and we can probably consider the other nonsense he was up to and his previous cheating scandal(s)).
The point I'm trying to make is these are all very indicative of a hostile and poorly managed environment. Laurent Rossi himself even went on to say the "Renaulution" (actual word used by him...) effectively required an "out with the old, in with the new" (paraphrasing, of course) approach. So whilst the team look strong at the minute - and Danny could've really honed in on a tailor-made car if he stayed - I think no one in their right mind would hinge on something like that while the team was in such a state. Again, a lot of this didn't happen till after he left but it certainly didn't happen overnight and I fully believe Danny could see the issues, or they were simply visible to staff, before they truly hit boiling point.
I think the likelihood is any driver in the same circumstances, with the ability to move on, would be looking at moving away from that environment.
Leaving Red Bull for Renault was a huge mistake. Right now Daniel needs a lot of luck or a billionaire backer.
Would be interesting to see what would have happened if he had stayed!
I like the guy but he has to deliver at some point
Hopefully he does!
In Baku Ricciardo could have been much further up, maybe has as high as P4, or likely P5 if McLaren hadn’t hold him up behind Norris in his first stint on the hard tyres. Had they let him past, Norris could have held up Gasly and Hamilton for a couple of laps and given Ricciardo a buffer and track position for his pit stop. McLaren knew this, which is why there were team orders at the end for Norris to stay behind - he didn’t hold Ricciardo up for a lap as Norris claimed in the post-race interviews, it was most of his first stint up until he pitted letting Ricciardo past. Strategy has a lot more to do with results in F1 than a lot of people realise & if not for some bad luck with the Sainz accident in Imola (Ricciardo got blamed for it, but Sainz did put the Ferrari in a pretty risky position on the outside with cold tyres on the first lap where he should have backed out) , the gap between the two drivers would not be what it currently is.
Yeah, Ricciardo's strategy in Baku wasn't good
It would be amazing to see Pierre Gasly replace Ricciardo at McLaren or Hamilton at Mercedes.
The driver's market is certainly something this year!
Yeah it would really interesting to see how Gasly could manage driving two cars in one season. Could you imagine him getting pole in the Merc then coming back out and beating it in the McLaren ? 😂😂
How will that work?
DR will stay at McLaren for 2023.
Yes the results haven't been the greatest in the 1st half of a season with new cars/teams etc but he does get his way back there.
1st season at a big team in RB and did big things against 4x WDC Vettel.
3 season against Max and he beat him for two of them.
1st season at Renault and beat existing team mate and respected Hulkenberg
2nd full season at Renault (no big car changes) and he finished P5 (6 points off P4)in the standing in a car that was P5 in the constructors. Over doubled Ocon's points.
1st season at McLaren, got their 1st win in forever in the back half of the season.(new team+car+driving style required)
2nd season at McLaren, we are less than half way through. (New car+driving style required)
Yes i'm Australian and legally obligated to support Danny Ric and might be cherrypicking some stats to make my case but look how the 2nd seat at RB has fared since his departure, Ocon who DR beat at Renault is ahead of Alonso in the standings this year and was only 10% or so behind in points last year.
Imagine an alternate reality where McLaren kept Carlos Sainz and Ferarri replaced Vettel with Ricciardo. Sainz would have been on pace with Norris and with a car philosophy he was used to.
What could Danny Ric have done at Ferarri against Charles who until 2020 was just beating Vettel.
The simple answer is that the McLaren just isn't working in Danny Ric's more than capable hands, its worked in others hands and he's used other tools to show how good he is.
I do hope things improve for him
No one knows more about the sport 😊 Always amazing content.
Appreciate it!
@@LottieTalksF1 you deserve the compliment and support on your channel gorgeous. Hope all is well 😊
This is a very nice insight into tge future
Rics bad decisions bad results
Danny ric may be behind at the moment. but im sure he will bounce back soon
Would be great to see!
Hmm, I wonder if the two McLaren outfits (F1 and Indy) might swap drivers. Danny Ric has a lot of popularity stateside, so it would make sense. That said Pato O'Ward just signed a contract until '25 and getting him might be tricky.
But indy is shit.
I think McLaren are fairly keen on getting an American driver into the seat.
@@LottieTalksF1 that might be so, but with the exception of Herta, who's probably counting on being in Andretti if that team ever gets a green light by F1, I don't know if there is an Indy driver immediately ready for transition. I just hope to see Pato in the F1 paddock at some point. He's a beast.
Riccardo has had 100 chances it has to be said.
I don't understand it Lottie, Rics has gone from constantly challenging Seb at Red Bull to basically F1 furniture ?. I have heard this "I am not feeling the car" thing for a few years now. His place at McLaren is defo looking sketchy...contracts or not.
Definitely sketchy
@@LottieTalksF1 One last thing here Lottie, I heard to day the Piastri might be going on loan to Williams. That dude has won everything, F2 world champ, F3 world champ, this champ, that champ, going right back to karting. I know you have spoken about him before but I didn't realise what a record he had. In a decent car...he will excel.
2023 mclaren :gasly and norris
Ooooooo