Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo will join Renault in 2019. In this picture, Ricciardo of Australia and Red Bull Racing prepares to drive in the garage before the Formula One Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit on Sept. 16, 2018, in Singapore. Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Daniel Ricciardo believes the 2019 Formula 1 grid, which is slowly taking shape, is made up mostly of drivers based on their talent. It is a well-known fact the smaller teams in the sport have in the past and even in the present day taken aboard drivers with more financial backing rather than talent.

Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull Racing, Renault and McLaren are the only team to have confirmed their full driver lineups for next season with five other teams yet to reveal the identity of their drivers.

Ricciardo triggered a wave of movement in the driver market when he shocked the F1 paddock by choosing to leave Red Bull, one of the top three teams at the moment, and join Renault. The Australian’s move had an adverse effect and it could see one of the most talented drivers in Esteban Ocon miss out on a drive in 2019.

The Frenchman, who is part of the Mercedes junior program, was penciled in to drive for the French team alongside Nico Hulkenberg before Ricciardo chose to jump ship. Ocon was also in the running for a seat at McLaren, but they chose to give Fernando Alonso’s seat to Carlos Sainz, who cut ties with Red Bull.

The Force India is unlikely to have a drive with his current employers as well after Lawrence Stroll took over the team after they went into administration. The businessman’s son Lance Stroll, who currently drives for Williams, is expected to join Sergio Perez in the team.

Ricciardo made it clear that he did not join Renault just to destroy Ocon’s prospects but admits that his move could leave the Frenchman without a drive. But he feels F1 is in a good place at the moment with most of the grid being made up of drivers that have proven themselves in junior categories of motor racing.

“I genuinely believe that pretty much the vast majority of the grid now is based around talent,” Ricciardo said, as per crash.net. “I don’t think the sport’s in a bad place at all with that.”

“I don’t know Ocon’s situation now. If he doesn’t have a drive next year, sure, he’s worthy of a drive, but I wouldn’t say he’s the first guy that’s missed it. It’s happened before that drivers with the talent have lost out.”

The Australian racer is confident Ocon will find a solution to his situation and is certain that missing out on a seat for a year will not be the end of his F1 career. Ricciardo, at 29, says he feels old with drivers as young as 19 set to lineup on the grid in 2019.

However, he is grateful that drivers are now being given an opportunity for performing well in the junior categories namely, F2 and F3 unlike previously where most of the drivers in the smaller teams would be one’s with proper financial backing rather than their skill level.

“If he [Ocon] didn’t have a seat, do I think that’s the end of his F1 career? No, I don’t think it is,” the Australian explained. “I feel it’s always gone on, and it’s unfortunate, but I don’t think it’s necessarily in a different place than it has been.”

“With the Ocon situation, I didn’t do it to screw him, but obviously the effect of my move has put him in a bit of a position now.

“I think now we’ve got younger drivers in the field than ever before. I feel old at 29 when there are kids well below their 20s in F1,” he added. “I don’t think it’s harder, but it’s always been the case. It’s not always that clear that this guy is in because he’s currently the best guy in junior formulas and that’s why he’s in F1. There’s political stuff and there’s financial stuff as well that’s always involved.”

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