Helmut Marko claims Daniel Ricciardo shook on Red Bull drive before he ‘listened more’ to Renault

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Daniel Ricciardo is likely to have sat in a Formula 1 cockpit during a race weekend for the final time after the Singapore Grand Prix, but his career could have played out so differently.

After leaving Red Bull to join Renault in 2019, he lacked the same edge and was never quite able to rediscover his race-winning form.

His former employer went on to win championships again, while the Australian fell off the grid in 2022, only to return with AlphaTauri in 2023.

The opportunity to return to Red Bull was there if he could light the track up again, but he failed to do so and it now looks as if his Formula 1 career is over.

Daniel Ricciardo shook Dietrich Mateschitz’s hand over 2019 Red Bull drive

Speaking to formel1.de, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has been discussing how Ricciardo’s departure after the 2018 season came about.

The team were set to partner up with a new engine supplier Honda, who at the time, came with major performance and reliability doubts.

It was enough for Ricciardo to turn against a handshake with owner Dietrich Mateschitz and join Renault ahead of the 2019 season.

READ MORE: McLaren will want to ‘put a stop’ to Singapore Grand Prix scenario that ‘can’t happen again’

“It was an event on Graz’s main square,” said Marko. “And then we sat down and actually came to an agreement. Sealed with a handshake. He then went to Salzburg and did the same with Dietrich Mateschitz.

“But he had certain reservations about the Honda engine, which would have come to us, and apparently listened more to the jingle of Renault and Cyril Abiteboul.”

How things panned out in 2019 and beyond

Ricciardo won just one race in his next four seasons with Renault and McLaren, while Red Bull won 33 in the same timespan.

The ‘Honey Badger’ has claimed he has no regrets over his career, but it’s clear to see that changing his mind after shaking on a Red Bull deal wasn’t a good move.

It’s unknown whether his fall would have been so dramatic alongside Max Verstappen, but it would have completely changed the Formula 1 landscape we became used to.

READ MORE: What Red Bull had to ‘sacrifice’ at the Singapore Grand Prix to deliver ‘pure performance’

The likes of Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and Sergio Perez would all be in completely different positions – with the latter probably off the grid after a terrific 2020 season.

Although he won’t get a farewell to the paddock, Ricciardo lit it up with his smile and personality for years, and he will be remembered as the latest of the late brakers.