Red Bull and Renault F1 relationship not “irreparable” - Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo sees no reason why Red Bull and Renault would be unable to work together again and revive their previous Formula 1 partnership.

Honda’s shock decision to quit F1 at the end of the 2021 F1 season has left Red Bull seeking a new power unit supplier from 2022. Under F1’s current regulations, Renault would be obliged to provide Red Bull with engines as the power unit manufacturer with the least customer teams.

Such a move would rekindle the previous Red Bull-Renault relationship which soured amid a turbulent spell of poor performance throughout the V6 hybrid era, ultimately resulting in divorce at the end of 2018 as Red Bull switched to Honda power.

Current Renault driver Ricciardo, who claimed all of his seven F1 victories while driving a Red Bull-Renault, believes the two parties could get back on “good working terms” despite the manner of their split.

“Obviously it’s not really up to me to decide how that goes, but I do think they could,” Ricciardo said.

“There are emotions, and then there’s business, and there’s time. Time heals a lot of things and whether things weren’t seen eye-to-eye a few years ago or whenever it was, I don’t think that will necessarily remain forever.

“So, if that’s what ends up happening in the future I think they can get back on good working terms. I never experience anything that was irreparable so I’m not concerned if that’s what they do. I think they’ll get on with it.”

Ricciardo does not feel that Red Bull will be massively impacted by the change given the looming major regulation overhaul coming in 2022.

“To be honest however the relationship ended last time with Red Bull and Renault, the fact was Red Bull was still winning races with Renault in the back of the car,” he explained.

“Obviously the championships were with Renault, so I think at the end of the day if they’re building a good car they’re going to get support and they’ll still have a chance to do that.

“Unless I’m missing something really obvious with the rules - I know you mentioned 2022 but I haven’t really thought that far ahead yet - but going on the history and the past and my experience there I don’t foresee anything that they should be concerned about.”

And the Australian said he felt no justification of his decision to leave Red Bull despite admitting there were some “unknowns” about the team’s impending switch to Honda power when he moved to Renault.

“I honestly don’t feel anything personal towards it,” he said. “I’m not jumping around saying ‘Oh yeah, look, I was right!’ It’s nothing like that.

“Obviously as far as Red Bull and my relationship with them and a lot of personnel in the team I kept that strong throughout. Even through my decision I kept good relationships so I never wanted them to struggle or suffer so to speak.

“Now they’ve got a decision to make with what happens next, but I don’t really look at it in a personal light of me winning or losing, it’s just the nature of the sport.

“There’s always a chance, the sport’s changing so much that there is a chance that stuff like this happens. I do hope they obviously find a solution, a good one, and they stay afloat and keep being a rival for the rest of us.”