Daniel Ricciardo shock decline pinned to 'sudden' change after Red Bull exit

Former F1 driver David Coulthard has pinned Daniel Ricciardo's shock performance decline to personal "baggage" gained since "suddenly" departing Red Bull at the end of 2018. Ricciardo spent five seasons with Red Bull from 2014-2018, before deciding join Renault. During his time racing for the Milton Keynes-based outfit, he was a consistent podium finisher, something he never was at Renault, McLaren or AlphaTauri.  The Australian was one of the lead drivers on the grid when at the Austrian team, and remains the only team-mate of Max Verstappen's to consistently match him.  However, his performances quickly declined once he left. His two seasons at Renault were good, but nothing exceptional, before he was blown out of the park by Lando Norris at McLaren.  It resulted in him and McLaren parting ways a year before his contract expired, causing him to at first fall off the grid for 2023. Red Bull signed him as a reserve driver, although he later returned to the grid after replacing Nyck de Vries mid-season. He was handed a contract for 2024. As well documented, he never completed the entirety of last season, and was replaced by Liam Lawson following the Singapore Grand Prix. "You see some drivers who evolve well. You see others who get affected by the success, and that affects their trajectory. I think Daniel Ricciardo would be an example of that," Coulthard explained on the High Performance podcast. Ricciardo's F1 career from his time with Renault onwards was a downward spiral, the sole exception being his remarkable victory for McLaren in the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.  He never reached the heights again of being a regular podium finisher, with many still pinning his Red Bull departure as a bad decision. "One of the bright young talents that arrived in Formula 1, one of the best overtakers of his generation, always exciting to watch," added Coulthard.  "And then just suddenly, as he left Red Bull, Renault was OK, McLaren, Lando outperformed him in both years, even though Daniel won a race. "And then it never really worked out again at AlphaTauri. Now he's happily retired, I assume wealthy individual. But it all felt like it was condensed into too short a period." Ricciardo's 'baggage' Since departing Red Bull's sister team and the energy drink company as a whole after Singapore last year, Ricciardo has effectively been retired from F1.  During his time with Red Bull, Ricciardo was often hailed as a potential future world champion, having been one of the fastest drivers in the sport at the time.  It made his decline even more shocking, with Coulthard pinning it to "baggage" he obtained during his career and exit from Red Bull. "If you're poor, that's a Tesco bag with a few clothes inside. If you're rich, it's a Louis Vuitton, but it all has to be carried," described Coulthard. "So, whether it's a baggage of wealth or whether it's baggage of success, or whether it's the baggage of poverty and difficulty, it's got to be carried to try and get to the next opportunity. "And for some people, maybe they're not able to let go and actually take themselves back to the moment that was the freest point, that saw their performances at the highest level."