F1 | Di Resta Expresses Ricciardo Is In A "Strange Place" Considering McLaren Move
Commentators Paul Di Resta and Johnny Herbert express their opinions on Daniel Ricciardo in regards to recent podium finishes and what the future holds for him as he moves to McLaren the coming season.
Daniel Ricciardo, who finished on the podium once again after the Imola GP
View this post on Instagram
Paul Di Resta, F1 commentator, expresses his opinion of Daniel Ricciardo in a "strange place" after standing on the podium with Renault after announcing his move to McLaren the following season.
This takes it back to end of 2018 Formula 1 season when he announced that he will be departing from Red Bull Racing the following year as he was in talks with both, McLaren and Renault Sport at the time and then deiciding his future is with Renault.
Renault looked as if they were steadily declining in 2019 while McLaren on the otherhand, is one of the most improved teams. He announced at the end of the year that he would swap Renault for McLaren even before the beginning of the 2020 push.
In a turn of events, this 2020 Formula 1 season proved that Renault showed a remarkable improvement with two podiums in the last three races for the Australian driver.
He finished P3 at the Eifel Grand Prix
View this post on Instagram
And again, at the Emilia Romagna race
So many emotions! And good to see the Shoey back👏. How was it 😉 @LewisHamilton @MercedesAMGF1 #RSspirit #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/OoptLzu7em
— Renault F1 Team (@RenaultF1Team) November 1, 2020
When Di Resta was asked about his opinion on the driver's move, he replies, "strange place"
To elaborate, Di Resta states to FoxSports, "He's been great - very relaxed, and he goes out there and delivers - I feel he’s in a strange place because when you’re in Parc Ferme and he’s got those podiums, it’s the start of something that I think was going to go quite far from a leadership point of view for Daniel. But of course he’s leaving there and going to McLaren because he thought that was the best chance before the season had started. But Renault are on the up. It was an ambitious ask to think they can finish third as a constructor this year, but they’re in a great place to try and achieve it."
Another commentator, Johnny Herbert also comments that Ricciardo leaving Renault is a pity as he sees a lot of potential for the team with Ricciardo guiding them and could possibly make the team stronger in the coming years.
Herbert states, "It is a shame in many respects - they're on the up, he would have been the perfect man, and his maturity is fantastic. Yeah, we have that laughing and joking with him, but it’s ability to get the best out of the team and the best out of the car. It’s a shame that we’re maybe not going to see the same thing next year. I hope McLaren are going to give him the car that he needs, but Renault do look very strong for the future."
