By F1 correspondent Michael Butterworth
SINGAPORE, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Renault F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo has played down speculation that he is set to leave the French outfit, insisting that he could stay with the team for another five years.
In a move that surprised many within the F1 paddock, the Australian moved from Red Bull to Renault for 2019, despite the drinks-backed outfit scoring over three times as many points as the French squad in 2018.
Renault have remained midfield runners in 2019, and paddock rumors have linked Ricciardo - who has Italian ancestry - with a possible move to Ferrari to replace Sebastian Vettel, though the Australian played down the significance of any speculation linking him with the Prancing Horse.
"I feel like every year at some point I get asked that," Ricciardo told Xinhua before Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix. "I think everyone's aware of my Italian background. For a while, there wasn't an Italian F1 driver, so [the media] do use that a lot."
The Australian added, "I guess it's open for now, because I do see myself at Renault for another five years. It's not an emotional decision. If I did move on, I would want to move on for the right business reasons, rather than emotional reasons. And by business, I mean results."
Having won seven Grands Prix across his five years as a Red Bull driver, Ricciardo is yet to stand on the podium since arriving at Renault, while his former teammate Max Verstappen has taken a further two wins this year. And while the Australian admits that 2019 has fallen below expectations, he insists that the future remains bright at Renault.
"Most of the time, we haven't achieved what we wanted to this year. Saying that, I knew there'd be work to do, so I'm not frustrated or let down by it. I've definitely seen signs of greatness, so I'm still convinced, but I'm also realistic that this year we didn't make enough of a step, so next year we have to exceed expectations to keep this thing on track."
Ricciardo will have a new teammate for the third consecutive year in 2020, after Renault decided to replace Nico Hulkenberg with Esteban Ocon, and the Perth-born driver says he is looking forward to the challenge of going up against the highly-rated Frenchman.
"I'm definitely interested and excited to work with someone else. We all know your teammate is your first rival, but I'm not coming in with any intention to be the big guy in this team. With Ocon, I'm expecting a bit of a [Max Verstappen] situation - young, hungry, fast - so I'll be trying to learn off him, but also keep ahead of him."
