Hamilton hails 'brave' Ricciardo career move
Hamilton hails 'brave' Ricciardo career move
Lewis Hamilton has praised Daniel Ricciardo for the Australian's "brave" decision to move from Red Bull to Renault for the start of the 2019 Formula One campaign, and likened the decision to his own to join Mercedes from McLaren, which paid off enormously.
During the month-long summer break, Ricciardo shocked the F1 world when he announced he would be ditching Red Bull in favour of Renault, who are a currently operating as a midfield team.
Speculation surrounding the move suggested that Ricciardo did not want to play second-fiddle to Red Bull's alleged golden boy, Max Verstappen, anymore. The move will ultimately see him leave a top three team for a mid-card outfit, but Hamilton has acknowledged the bravery of the decision.
"I'm really happy for him," said Hamilton.
"It's always brave to make a decision that's out of the norm, knowing that people are going to have opinions about it, and still halfway through a season not knowing how the next year's going to go.
READ MORE: Ricciardo's plan to combat Monza grid penalties
READ MORE: Vettel warns Hamilton: Ferrari strong everywhere now
"It's an exciting period for him. A lot of people in life are scared of change, of what's different, and therefore get stuck in a space that's not their happiest space but they get by.
"It's cool to see that Daniel, similar to me, is wanting to elevate himself, wanting to try something new, and learn from it – good or bad, and take the risk."
Renault chief technical officer Bob Bell, who is set to leave the team, weighed in on the comparison to Hamilton leaving McLaren and Ricciardo leaving Red Bull.
"It's not the same situation because of course when Lewis made the jump, there was the change in engine regulations," Bell told Motorsport.com.
"Let's face it, that had a massive impact on Mercedes' success that Lewis was able to reap the reward of. I think it will be much harder for Daniel, but ultimately, the end story will be similar, that he'll feel he did the right thing."
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Hamilton struggles pinned on Mercedes by team's OWN driver
- 32 minutes ago
Verstappen issues MAYHEM warning to F1 bosses
- 1 hour ago
Ferrari announce HUGE F1 change to iconic red livery
- 2 hours ago
F1 News Today: Hamilton and Verstappen rivalry takes SHOCK twist as F1 team 'set to announce' mega signing
- Today 05:57
Horner Red Bull saga in new 'evidence' update as big F1 star left 'very angry' - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
Cocky sporting legend CHALLENGES Hamilton in stunning claim
- Yesterday 22:57
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860