Daniel Ricciardo says leaving Red Bull at the end of 2018 likely saved his Formula 1 career from being 'obliterated' by Max Verstappen’s rise. He rejects claims that he walked away to dodge a fight.
Ricciardo says he saw where the team was heading with Verstappen. He admits Verstappen was the stronger driver and that staying might have brought a few more wins. He feared a longer stretch where Verstappen would beat him week after week. He says that kind of result would have worn him down and hurt his standing in the sport.
The move set off a winding path. Ricciardo joined Renault for 2019 and 2020. He then moved to McLaren for 2021. He won his last Grand Prix that year. McLaren dismissed him after 2022. In 2023 he had a stint with the Red Bull sister team, which raced as AlphaTauri and later as Racing Bulls. He left Formula 1 by the end of 2024. The timeline shows his results did not climb after Red Bull, even if the exit spared him from a direct comparison to Verstappen in the same car.
Verstappen’s record in that span explains Ricciardo’s concern. The Dutchman won four straight world championships from 2021 to 2024. He set the pace across seasons and tracks. That is the sustained level Ricciardo says he wanted to avoid facing from inside the same garage over many years. Ricciardo says this was not about fear of a head-to-head fight on any given Sunday. It was about the grind of a long season against a teammate who kept raising the bar.
Red Bull’s own search for a long-term partner for Verstappen also frames Ricciardo’s choice. Since Ricciardo left, the team has cycled through multiple teammates for Verstappen. The turnover shows how hard it has been to find someone who can stay close to Verstappen’s level and settle into the role for several seasons. Ricciardo had delivered wins and podiums for Red Bull in his earlier stint. The team has not found that same mix of speed, experience, and fit for the seat.
Ricciardo’s account ties both stories together. He accepted Verstappen’s trajectory, saw the risk to his own reputation if he stayed, and chose a new path. He did not escape to avoid a duel. He made a move he believes kept his career from being defined by a one-sided contest inside Red Bull.