F1: Daniel Ricciardo had ‘sleepless nights’ about leaving Red Bull

Associated PressAug 24, 2018, 11:46 AM EDT
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SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) Although weighing up the decision to leave Red Bull gave Daniel Ricciardo “a few sleepless nights,” he felt his unexpected move to join Renault was inevitable.

The Australian driver stunned F1 when, instead of signing a new deal with Red Bull on July 31 as widely anticipated, he announced days later he was joining Renault for 2019.

Not, he said, because of an uneasy relationship with Dutch driver and teammate Max Verstappen. Ricciardo insists there was “no falling out or bad blood” with Verstappen, team principal Christian Horner or any of the management.

His decision to leave was because he needed “fresh motivation” after feeling “frustrated and a bit numb” following so many years within Red Bull’s set up. Ricciardo started in F1 with Toro Rosso – Red Bull’s feeder team – in 2012 and joined Red Bull in 2014.

“I was really torn with what to do and that process took time,” Ricciardo said Thursday. “It wasn’t easy. There were a lot of factors and variables in my mind. When I weighed it up the change of setting, a new challenge, are probably the answers I needed.”

Ricciardo began this season well, winning two of the first six races.

Then, the team’s reliability problems resurfaced as did his sometimes difficult relationship with Verstappen. At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in April, they crashed into each other. Neither accepted the blame.

Ricciardo was faster than Verstappen in Baku but couldn’t get past him. As a frustrated Ricciardo tried to force his way past, Verstappen closed the door on him and Ricciardo, with no time to react, slammed into the back of his teammate.

It wasn’t the first time they had collided.

Last year, Ricciardo was livid with Verstappen after being bumped off the track by him on the first lap of the Hungarian GP. Ricciardo described Verstappen’s driving as “amateur” for the way he swerved into him when going wide on the exit from a turn.

Although the 29-year-old Ricciardo has won seven races for Red Bull, Verstappen is just 20 and considered the future star of F1.

By the age of 18, Verstappen became the youngest driver to win an F1 race and qualify in the top two positions. He has already won four F1 races, secured multiple podiums, and is one of the quickest and best at overtaking.

While Red Bull has always insisted the drivers were on equal footing, Verstappen was given a lucrative multi-year deal – before Ricciardo was offered his new contract – which appeared to suggest the team’s focus was more on him.

Ricciardo was asked if his move to Renault was to get away from Verstappen.

“No is the short answer,” Ricciardo replied, adding that perceptions that Verstappen was the team’s designated No. 1 were inaccurate, albeit understandable.

“From the outside people thought that, but hand on heart there was never any concern or sign of that,” Ricciardo said.

He was also happy with the new contract offered to him by Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko but it was not enough to change his mind about leaving.

“(Marko’s) known me for 10 years and I think he’d sensed at times some frustration or maybe some things changing in me,” Ricciardo said. “He was a little bit disappointed I was moving on.”

Ricciardo’s sudden refusal of a new deal left Red Bull scrambling for a new driver for next season.

The seat has gone to 22-year-old Frenchman Pierre Gasly, fast-tracked from Toro Rosso after largely exceeding expectations this season.

“He owes me a drink,” said a smiling Ricciardo, who sat next to Gasly at Thursday’s news conference. “Two drinks.”

Gasly and Verstappen are friends since their karting days but that friendship might be more difficult to maintain on the F1 track.

Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
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LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).