Daniel Ricciardo May End Up Losing Out During the Coronavirus Crisis

The coronavirus crisis ensured that almost every F1 team is in a dicey situation. For the Renault F1 team, its driver Daniel Ricciardo, may end up as the victim of the crisis, especially since his contract expires at the end of the year.

The 2020 Formula 1 season was supposed to commence last month. However, the coronavirus pandemic forced its postponement. Nobody knows when it will resume, but this health crisis has definitely hit the teams hard. Of all 10 teams, Renault is possibly the worst-affected from a financial standpoint, as Daniel Ricciardo is their highest-earning driver.

The Australian driver’s contract is set to conclude at the end of the season and there is still uncertainty on his Renault future. So, the French outfit needs to make a decision on Ricciardo’s future. This is in spite of the fact that the Australian driver has not competed in any races this season. Team boss, Cyril Abiteboul, recently opened up on the matter to L’Equipe.

“We may have to make decisions without the season having started. In a normal season, we would have started working on it. We would have evaluated Daniel’s performance over the first four races and started or not started the first discussions. Then we wouldn’t have done a lap.”

“We are blind but we have to project ourselves. So we talk a lot. We may have to make decisions without the season having started. We’re preparing for that. Is it a problem if he leaves?”

What will Renault do if Daniel Ricciardo leaves?

Abitebould admitted that as long as there are no surprises, Ricciardo electing to leave should not be a big problem. This explains why the two parties are locked in deep discussions. The driver academy’s existence is also on standby in case of an emergency.

It is not abundantly clear that Formula One is facing the beginning of rampant cost-cutting. This will become increasingly necessary the longer the 2020 F1 season is delayed. Indeed it doesn’t take much to realise that soon F1 will be passing the point of which seismic change in Formula 1 is inevitable. In other words, the coronavirus crisis has proven to be a massive game-changer