Daniel Ricciardo’s move to McLaren was not because of any significant factor. It was a decision that had to be done early in the 2020 season.
The first F1 2020 race is set to take place in Austria on July 5. Like any other major sports, this year’s races will not have any fans to cheer on the teams. Instead, it will be a closed circuit race limited to the racers and the team’s crew.
As such, it will not have the revelries that normally come with the racers across the world. However, this year’s season will be one for the books as everyone’s eyes are set for the races in 2021. In other words, this year will just be a stepping stone for bigger headlines in 2021.
Daniel Ricciardo’s move
When the F1 season was abruptly suspended due to the coronavirus, the news about the season turned stale. However, it reignited when Sebastian Vettel announced his departure from Scuderia Ferrari for the 2021 season. It was then soon followed by the transfer of Carlos Sainz to take over Vettel’s seat in Ferrari.
Not a few days after the Sainz announcement, Daniel Ricciardo also announced his transfer to McLaren after just spending one year with Renault. In a podcast interview, Ricciardo said
“I think obviously Vettel’s announcement or news with Ferrari kind of sparked everything, and then things were moving pretty quickly around Carlos and all the other stuff. I don’t think there was, although it seemed like maybe there was still time, I don’t actually think there was, to make movement, if that’s what you were kind of going for.”
Ricciardo was obviously referring to the snappy decision he made after finding out that there is an open seat in McLaren.
Why the rush?
Daniel Ricciardo’s move according to him was not brought about one definitive factor. Instead, it was spurred by a “heat of the moment” decision.
When asked about why he didn’t wait for the 2020 season to start before deciding, he said:
“If we start racing – and this is all just obviously what I’m playing in my head – if you start racing in July, which wasn’t 100%, let’s say we did, which we are by the looks of it, you’ve then got a few races.”
“You’re not going to find out [everyone’s form] in the first race, the second race – you’re probably going to wait ‘til August, maybe even September ‘til you really know where everyone’s at. And I think by then it was going to be too late to get something you were really after.”
Image courtesy of Formula 1/ YouTube screenshot