McLaren victory 'made Red Bull exit worth it' - Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo has suggested his Italian Grand Prix victory has made "everything worth it" in his F1 journey since leaving Red Bull in 2018.

The Australian won seven races with Red Bull after rising through its junior ranks before sensationally switching to Renault for 2019.

After building the French manufacturer up to become a podium-scoring outfit for the first time since the beginning of the previous decade, Ricciardo moved to McLaren ahead of this season and initially struggled to find his feet at Woking.

With a strong qualifying performance in Belgium helping to turn a corner after the summer break, Ricciardo then claimed his first win since Monaco 2018 in taking the chequered flag at Monza and McLaren's first since Brazil 2012.

Asked if that win had helped to vindicate his decision to leave Red Bull, Ricciardo responded: "I didn't really think like that in terms of... even through the struggles this year or over the last couple of years at times, maybe.

"I never really got to the mindset of 'Is this it? Is Monaco really the last time I will get there?'

"I knew I would probably have to work a little bit harder for it at times, like last year, for example, getting the Renault back on the podium, that was such a target.

"Achieving that, I took a lot of fulfilment and obviously so did the team.

"Monza, if you like, it did kind of make everything worth it, I guess. It was just nice, nice to stand back up there and nice I think also to do it with another team.

"There is a sense of pride in that, making it work and getting to the top step with another outfit, and none other than McLaren.

"There is certainly some feel-good stuff about it. I like winning, winning is good so it was nice to do it again."

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