Daniel Ricciardo, Renault colleagues, Red Bull, McLaren, F1 News

Daniel Ricciardo uncovered his move from Red Bull to Renault, revealing that some members of his old team were too intimidated to speak to him.

The Australian left Red Bull at the end of 2018 and moved to Renault for two seasons, a huge coup for the French team.

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Ricciardo struggled to be successful in his first season with Renault but improved in 2020 and ended the season with two podiums at the German and Italian Grand Prix.

It was certainly not a smooth start for Ricciardo at Renault. The lively 32-year-old admitted that several of his new colleagues gave him the cold shoulder in his early days with his new team.

“This is something you try to ignore or never want to admit,” Ricciardo said in an interview with Optus when asked whether colleagues felt scared or intimidated by him.

“Of course not everyone does, but I would be lying if I said that sometimes I didn’t notice.

“I think there was one when I switched from Red Bull to Renault.

“It was the most prominent move of the season and I think some people at Renault have probably read too many articles and headlines and it was a bigger deal for them that I came.

“So I felt (on my) first day at work, people were just too shy to even say ‘hello’ to me.

“If I went and introduced myself, it would bring you back like, ‘Why is he talking to me? I’m not that important ‘. “

“You could just tell that some of them were really in their shells.

“I felt bad thinking, ‘I’m not trying to overwhelm you, I’m just trying to be nice and start something.’

“I think the best way to break that is to be authentic, to be yourself and just let them know that you are just like them. You are human and we all have feelings.

“We all have one passion and one love for the same thing too, so that’s pretty cool.”

In the middle of his sophomore year at Renault, Ricciardo signed a multi-year contract with McLaren.

Ricciardo has had a tough time with McLaren so far this season and is currently ninth in the drivers’ standings with his best result, a fifth place at the British Grand Prix last month.

F1 is currently in the mid-season break, but Ricciardo will be back in action at the Belgian Grand Prix on August 29th.