Daniel Ricciardo was warned ‘not to trust Zak Brown’ before McLaren nightmare
F1 star Daniel Ricciardo was warned 'not to trust' McLaren boss Zak Brown before signing a multi-year contract which ended in nightmare.
The 33-year-old, who has 32 podiums and eight wins to his name, left Renault after a successful second season and opted to join Brown and McLaren. However, the Netflix: Drive to Survive series has revealed that Ricciardo was warned not to join the Woking-based team.
Former Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul was speaking to Ricciardo ahead of last year's Dutch Grand Prix. He said: “I told you not to trust Zak.” Ricciardo has been replaced by young Australian Oscar Piastri at McLaren and Brown has denied reports that the 21-year-old was signed while his countryman was still unaware of his future.
READ MORE: McLaren chief will insert ‘more performance protections’ after Daniel Ricciardo struggle
“We were transparent through the whole process and I know there had been tonnes of media speculation when it happened, how it happened,” Brown told Formula 1 News.
“Daniel and I know what really happened and I think that’s why we still very much have a strong relationship. It was all transparent, well-communicated and there’s time we can tell people what’s going on and then there’s other times we just can’t.”
Ricciardo had five successful years at Red Bull during which he finished third in the drivers' championship twice and took seven race wins. Despite winning at the Italian Grand Prix during his first year with McLaren a poor start to his second season resulted in the Australian having his contract terminated.
Ricciardo has returned to Red Bull this season as their reserve driver.
Brown said in future he would insert ‘more performance protections’ into contracts after admitting that breaking the Australian's deal had cost the British constructor heavily.
“It’s an interesting one,” Brown said to the High Performance podcast. “I mean he came in having won seven grand prix and was the hottest driver that you could get.
"I think we kind of maybe assumed, and I think rightfully so, that he was going to pick up where he left off. I think my one learning there would really just be contractual. I think we’ve had to end the relationship early. We’ve had to write a big cheque, which is fine, because that’s the deal we cut."
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