Martin Brundle thinks Daniel Ricciardo should never have left Red Bull

As Daniel Ricciardo begins his farewell tour as a McLaren driver, Martin Brundle reckons it all began to go wrong for the Australian in 2018 when he rejected a new Red Bull contract in favour of a move to Renault.

The knock-on from that is four years later, he is contemplating a future outside of Formula 1.

Back in 2018, Ricciardo shocked the F1 paddock by announcing he was leaving Red Bull to join Renault at the end of the season, nobody more shocked than Red Bull themselves as he had already recorded a renewal video with the team.

But less than a year-and-a-half after joining Renault, he shocked them too as he revealed he would be joining McLaren in 2021 having signed a multi-year deal.

His time with the Woking team, though, has not been very successful.

While he bagged the team’s first win since 2012 when he took the chequered flag at last year’s Italian Grand Prix, that was one high in a relationship that has included too many lows.

As such, Ricciardo and McLaren announced on Wednesdaythis season would be his last with the Woking team.

Facing the prospect of not being on the Formula 1 grid next season, Brundle reckons this is a consequence of Ricciardo’s decision to leave Red Bull.

“He shouldn’t have left Red Bull, that’s how it looks to me,” the Express quotes him as having told Sky Sports.

“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 10 and running outside the top 10 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.”

But can Daniel Ricciardo come back?

Ricciardo has very few options for next season in Formula 1 –Alpine, Haas or Williams.

But while Alpine are the team that could possibly give him the chance to fight for podiums, and maybe a shock win, Ricciardo left the team abruptly for a reason.

While he has never gone into details as to why exactly, just saying McLaren felt like the better option, it does haveone wondering would he even want to go back and try again.

Alpine have said they are open to the Aussie returning, while Ricciardo also says that door is not closed.

And if it is notAlpinethen it is a step – and quite a big one – down the grid.

Although Haas have shown promising signs this season, the team seventh in the Constructors’ Championship, their 34 points are some way off the fight for best of the rest.

It can be argued the team have largely had only one driver scoring points, Mick Schumacher struggling to break into the top 10, and with two cars doing so Haas would be further up the order.

Even further behind Haas are Williams, back at the bottom of the log with just three points. Given the 33-year-old is an eight-time grand prix winner, one cannot see him being okay with falling to the very back of the field.