Daniel Ricciardo to leave Red Bull at end of the season and join F1 rival Renault to partner Nico Hulkenberg

Daniel Ricciardo will leave Red Bull at the end of the season, with the Australian agreeing a two-year deal with Formula One rivals Renault.

The news comes as a major shock given that 29-year-old Ricciardo has been locked in contract negotiations with Red Bull throughout the year, with the expectation that he would re-sign with the team after missing out on seats with Mercedes and Ferrari.

But his move to Renault, which will cause a major shake-up to the grid for 2019 that leaves plenty of uncertainty over who will be driving where next season, sees him partner Nico Hulkenberg after the French marque announced the move.

"It was probably one of the most difficult decisions to take in my career so far,” Ricciardo said. “But I thought that it was time for me to take on a fresh and new challenge.

“I realise that there is a lot ahead in order to allow Renault to reach their target of competing at the highest level but I have been impressed by their progression in only two years, and I know that each time Renault has been in the sport they eventually won. I hope to be able to help them in this journey and contribute on and off track."

Jérôme Stoll, president of Renault Sport Racing, claimed that the acquisition of Ricciardo proves that the team are continuing on their path towards fighting for grand prix wins and world championships. “Renault decided to come back to Formula One to fight for World Championships,” Stoll said. “Signing Daniel Ricciardo is a unique opportunity for the Groupe Renault towards this objective that could not be missed. We welcome Daniel’s arrival to our team, still in the making, but more motivated than ever.”

Renault managing director Cyril Abiteboul added: “Daniel’s signing underscores our determination to accelerate our progress towards the forefront of the sport. It is also a recognition of the work accomplished over the past two and a half seasons.

“Daniel’s undoubted talent and charisma are a huge bonus and statement for the team. We will have to repay his faith in us by delivering the best car possible. We welcome him to our growing team in 2019 with a great deal of pride, but also humility.”

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The Australian has grown into one of the most popular drivers on the grid, largely due to his beaming smile that can be seen around the paddock, but also due to his aggressive-yet-controlled style that has seen him pull-off some of the most eye-catching overtakes in recent seasons. This was seen most recently at last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix where Ricciardo recovered from a poor start that dropped him to 16th to finish fourth, following a series of breath-taking overtakes into turn one.

But it was expected that Ricciardo’s new deal would be announced before the weekend was complete, and the ensuing silence from both team and driver increased suspicions that all was not well in negotiations.

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That said, Ricciardo’s comments after testing this week did not suggest he was about to inform the team of his desire to leave. “It will definitely be done by Spa,” Ricciardo told Sky Sports after mid-season testing in Budapest on Wednesday. “Whether it gets announced over the summer break or in Spa [I don't know].

“It's just a little bit of fine tuning here and there. It's all good. You will hear something soon, I'm sure.”

But Red Bull announced his shock departure on Friday afternoon with shock statement, and team principal Christian Horner gave the move his blessing after their four-year stint together.

“We fully respect Daniel’s decision to leave Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and we wish him all the best in his future,” Horner said. “We would like to thank him for his dedication and the role he has played since joining the team in 2014, the highlights of course being the seven wins and the 29 podiums he has achieved so far with us.

“We will now continue to evaluate the numerous options available to us before deciding on which driver partners Max Verstappen for the 2019 season. In the meantime, there are still nine races left in 2018 and we are fully focused on maximising every opportunity for Max and Daniel for the remainder of the season.”

Ricciardo graduated to the senior Red Bull team from their sister Toro Rosso outfit in 2014 to replace Ferrari-bound Sebastian Vettel, and has gone on to claim seven race wins for the energy drink-backed team as well as securing 29 podium finishes.

With Mercedes signing up reigning world champions Lewis Hamilton to a new two-year deal until 2020 an teammate Valtteri Bottas for next season, Ricciardo was linked with replacing Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari. But Sauber’s Charles Leclerc has since emerged as the favourite to rival Raikkonen to partner Vettel next year, and while McLaren expressed an interest in Ricciardo, he has elected to move to factory outfit Renault that will see him remain with the power unit that Red Bull will ditch at the end of the year.

The announcement means that Carlos Sainz will be out of his seat next season, with McLaren understood to be keen on the Spaniard to replace the struggling Stoffel Vandoorne.

As for Red Bull, they could look to bring Sainz back into the mix after he left Toro Rosso in 2017 to join the French manufacturer, with Max Verstappen set to become their No 1 driver next season after he committed his future to the team with a new deal earlier in the year.