Four-time satellite champion Alain Prost says Daniel Ricciardo decided to permission the Renault squad for McLaren due to the fact that helium was "afraid" of what the team's aboriginal held.
Ricciardo spent 2 seasons with Renault (now Alpine) successful 2019 and 2020, but made the telephone to articulation McLaren for 2021 adjacent earlier the COVID-19 delayed 2020 play had started.
Ricciardo said astatine the clip it wasn't an casual determination to permission Renault, having to marque a telephone connected 2021 based connected signifier successful the 2019 season.
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F1 announced successful March 2020 that the projected regularisation changes that were to beryllium introduced successful 2021 would beryllium delayed until 2022, with teams to usage their 2020 cars again successful 2021.
The Australian's manus was forced to a grade by the announcement that Carlos Sainz was leaving McLaren to articulation Ferrari, with Ricciardo saying successful June 2020 that helium felt the model for immoderate determination was closing quickly.
Speaking connected the Australian Grand Prix's In the Fastlane podcast, Prost, who is simply a non-executive manager of the Alpine team, said Ricciardo was spooked by the imaginable of different uncompetitive twelvemonth successful 2021, alternatively than immoderate unhappiness with the team.
"He was a small spot acrophobic by the project, for sure. We had to support the aforesaid engine, that meant astir nary alteration to the chassis, oregon precise little," helium said.
"We cognize we person a small shortage to the Mercedes engine, truthful it was much the task alternatively than the ambience.
"I work a batch astir Daniel, however he's not going to beryllium satellite champion oregon whatever, it's ever hard successful a vocation to marque a bully choice."
At the clip Ricciardo decided to permission Renault, he'd endured a hard archetypal play with the team, failing to unafraid a azygous podium and finishing a lowly ninth successful the satellite championship.
Despite that mediocre performance, Prost said helium couldn't responsibility the Australian's approach.
"I'm precise adjacent to the drivers, you tin ideate being an aged racing driver, and with Daniel it was a large connection," helium explained.
"Obviously the results were not precisely what you could accept.
"Daniel was fantastic for the team, it was a dream, the ambience, ne'er complaining, it was precise good."
The 32-year-old's power to McLaren hasn't precisely been creaseless sailing either, with teammate Lando Norris having the amended of Ricciardo, though the Australian famously led location a 1-2 decorativeness for the squad astatine Monza.
Regardless, Norris has outscored Ricciardo 153-105, portion the squad is going done a hard play astatine the moment, having scored conscionable 4 points successful the past 3 races.
"At slightest he's happy, he's successful a bully team, I'm surprised, I was expecting him to beryllium overmuch better, overmuch quicker successful the McLaren compared to Lando," Prost said.
"But that means the antithetic mode of mounting up the car could suit a operator a small spot little than the different one. It's the mean portion of beingness arsenic a racing driver."
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