F1 News: The moment Daniel Ricciardo knew Red Bull reign was over

Christian Horner, Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 2023 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

The moment F1 star Daniel Ricciardo knew his Red Bull reign was over

Ricciardo used to be Red Bull's star man

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 24 February 2026 21:52 Updated: 22:50

Daniel Ricciardo was Red Bull's brightest star for a short while, but one F1 moment changed the trajectory of his career.

The Aussie first joined Red Bull's main team in 2014, where he finished third in the championship during his debut season and crucially ahead of four-time champion team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

Tipped as a future world champion for the team, this title threatened to be toppled by the arrival of 18-year-old Max Verstappen into the team, who won his first race in spectacular fashion at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.

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Reminiscing on the first victory of the now four-time champion, F1 pundit Karun Chandhok detailed his experience from the day in a recent article.

Verstappen arrival ensured new top dog at Red Bull

Writing for InterCooler, Chandhok wrote up part two of his 'Most Memorable Races', and revealed the 2016 Spanish GP was the race Ricciardo realised he was no longer top dog at Red Bull.

"As soon as the race was over, instead of going to talk to the team bosses I opted to grab a word with Jos as we walked to the podium," Chandhok wrote.

"The Dutchman is a notoriously hard man but he was rendered almost speechless; he had tears in his eyes as he tried to recall what his son had just achieved.

"I also remember sticking my head into the Red Bull motorhome for a coffee later and it happened to be as Daniel and Daniil both walked in. They gave each other a look across the motorhome and shook their heads. No words exchanged but both knew that, from that moment, there was a new top dog at Red Bull."

As Verstappen's talent grew increasingly more foreboding at Red Bull, Ricciardo found himself at a crossroads and for the 2019 season opted to leave the team for Renault. What would have happened if he had remained at Red Bull remains one of the greatest question marks over Daniel Ricciardo's career.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Daniel Ricciardo Karun Chandhok