Martin Brundle: Ricciardo shouldn’t have left Red Bull

Ricciardo will leave McLaren at the end of this year after underwhelming performances - his contract was terminated a year early, and he is no longer guaranteed a spot in the F1 2023 driver line-up although rumours link him to Alpine and Haas.

But Sky’s Brundle believes Ricciardo’s decision to leave Red Bull for Renault in 2018 put his back against the wall.

“He shouldn’t have left Red Bull, that’s how it looks to me,” Brundle said to Sky. 

“The Renault move was the wrong move for him. He didn’t fancy staying around what he thought was Team Verstappen, which there was an element of truth in that.

“So it’s just played out badly all the way along, he has lost his mojo a little bit. 

“When I see Daniel starting outside the top ten and running outside the top ten all afternoon, that’s not him. That’s not where he’s at, we know he’s better than that. 

“I find that painful to watch, I can’t imagine how painful it has been for Daniel to be in that car falling backwards through the field so maybe it’s a blessed relief all around and he will come back and show his mettle.”

Ricciardo finished the F1 Belgian Grand Prix in 15th.