Official! Ricciardo to leave Red Bull end of 2018

Daniel Ricciardo will leave Red Bull Racing at the end of this season, that’s according to the team.

Although Ricciardo had hinted that he would re-sign with Red Bull, going as far to say it will “definitely” be sorted before Spa, in a shock announcement on Friday the team revealed he would be leaving at the end of this season.

“We fully respect Daniel’s decision to leave Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and we wish him all the best in his future,” announced Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.

“We would like to thank him for his dedication and the role he has played since joining the team in 2014, the highlights of course being the seven wins and the 29 podiums he has achieved so far with us.”

Ricciardo joined Red Bull Racing in 2014, claiming seven race wins, 29 podium finishes and two pole positions with the team.

The Aussie is now being linked to a move to Renault, Red Bull’s soon-to-be-ex engine supplier.

Horner meanwhile is confident Red Bull will find a suitable replacement with Carlos Sainz or Pierre Gasly the most likely to replace Ricciardo.

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Horner added: “We will now continue to evaluate the numerous options available to us before deciding on which driver partners Max Verstappen for the 2019 season.

“In the meantime, there are still nine races left in 2018 and we are fully focused on maximising every opportunity for Max and Daniel for the remainder of the season.”

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