Paris (AFP)
The Australian Daniel Ricciardo will leave Renault for McLaren in 2021, with a contract covering "several years", to replace the Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr, approached at Ferrari, announced the British team in a statement Thursday.
Ricciardo, 30, will be associated with Briton Lando Norris, 20, who will then play his third season with McLaren, it said.
We are now awaiting the announcement of the transfer of Sainz to Ferrari alongside Monegasque Charles Leclerc in 2021. He would take the seat previously occupied by the German Sebastian Vettel, whose departure at the end of 2020 was announced Tuesday by the Italian team .
Ricciardo has been playing in the premier category of motorsport since 2011 and raced for Red Bull between 2014 and 2018 before joining Renault in 2019, with results that did not match his ambitions. He had had discussions with McLaren before joining the French team.
The Australian has 29 podiums including seven successes and three pole positions in his record. His best rankings in the world championship are two third places in 2014 and 2016.
"Signing with Daniel is another step forward in our long-term project (to bring the team back to success after difficult years since 2013, editor's note)," said McLaren CEO Zak Brown.
Powered by Renault until the end of 2020, the team based in Woking (England) will be powered again by Mercedes next season.
Renault, whose second driver is French Esteban Ocon, who has a contract until the end of 2021, plus an option for 2022, will now have to find a replacement for Ricciardo.
"I am confident that the 2020 season will allow us to achieve more together and our ambitions as well as the Renault DP World F1 Team strategy as a team remain the same," said the boss of the French team, Cyril. Abiteboul, in a press release announcing the failure of negotiations to renew Ricciardo's contract.
The situation is unprecedented, the 2020 season has not yet started due to the coronavirus pandemic.
© 2020 AFP