Ricciardo: F1 future second most difficult decision of my life

Daniel Ricciardo has described his next Formula 1 move as “the second most difficult decision” of his life following his move to Europe to begin his racing career during his junior days.

Attention on Ricciardo’s F1 future has continued to ramp up following Red Bull’s confirmation switching to Honda engines from next season, ending its 12-year partnership with Renault, as it seeks a long-term goal of challenging Ferrari and Mercedes as a works’ team.

Reports have also emerged of McLaren approaching Ricciardo as a potential replacement for Fernando Alonso from next year while the Australian driver had previously been tipped with moves to Mercedes and Ferrari.

Speaking at the French Grand Prix, Ricciardo is eager to assess the capabilities of both Honda and Renault engines before making a decision on his future on whether to stick with Red Bull or make a move away from the Milton Keynes-based squad.

Ricciardo admits his next F1 career move could become decisive to his target of challenging for world titles.

“It’s probably the second most difficult,” Ricciardo said. “The most difficult was leaving Australia and going to Europe when I still didn’t really know what my talent was.

“I didn’t really believe then I was good enough. That was a trickier decision. This will be the second. It’s big enough.

“The priority is to get a car that can win the world title because I really believe I can. That’s the first thing in my mind. If there was no possibility then you look into other things. As a driver, I feel like I’ve done enough now.

“It’s not about X amount of money, it’s just what you feel your value is and what you bring to the sport. I feel like I hold a certain value so I want to match that with my kind of expectations and what people value me.”

Ricciardo’s position is thought to be key to the 2019 F1 driver market with knock-on impacts on the rest of the grid. The Australian driver’s links to Ferrari have been quelled with the Italian manufacturer reportedly set to promote Charles Leclerc into the factory team at the expense of Kimi Raikkonen.