Daniel Ricciardo broke 'handshake agreement' with Red Bull in 2018 to join Renault, claims Helmut Marko

Red Bull's Helmut Marko has claimed that Daniel Ricciardo broke the handshake agreement he made with the team in 2018. The Australian was a part of the Austrian stable since he was a junior. He made his way through the ranks with Torro Rosso before he finally got promoted in 2014.

After beating Sebastian Vettel in his first season at Red Bull, Ricciardo took over as the lead driver of the team. In 2016, when Max Verstappen joined the team, the dynamics started changing a little, but by 2018, it has started becoming more and more an operation that leaned towards the Dutch driver.

In 2018, Ricciardo's contract was coming to an end and there was an inkling that the Australian would continue with Red Bull; he'd had conversations with Ferrari and Mercedes but none of that had worked out. It was thus a shock for everyone when he announced that he was moving to Renault.

Years later, Helmut Marko revealed that the Australian had a handshake agreement with Dietrich Mateschitz, and when Daniel Ricciardo broke it, the Red Bull owner did not appreciate that. In an interview with Formel1.de, Marko said:

“It was an event on the main square in Graz. Afterwards, we sat down together and actually came to an agreement. Sealed with a handshake. He then travelled to Salzburg and did the same there with Dietrich Mateschitz. But he had certain reservations about the Honda engine, which would have come to us, and apparently listened more to Renault and Cyril Abiteboul.”

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Marko claims Daniel Ricciardo knew about the conditions for his promotion

Helmut Marko claimed that Daniel Ricciardo knew that he had to definitively beat Yuki Tsunoda over the season for him to get the promotion to Red Bull. The fact that he couldn't do that meant the seat was always in danger. Talking to Racingnews365, he said:

"I think it was clearly communicated that he has to be significantly better than Yuki Tsunoda and he only managed that in a few races, so it was clear that this story of the prodigal son rejoining Red Bull Racing unfortunately didn't work out. He said very well that he is at peace with himself, and he has come to terms with the situation and we will see what his plans for the future are."

Ricciardo has not announced retirement from the sport or made comments on his future.