Delia Sweatman

As part of the pre-season driver merry-go-round prompted by Ferrari not keeping Sebastian Vettel, Ricciardo was snapped up by McLaren as the replacement for Carlos Sainz. That move prompted Abiteboul to express some annoyance at Ricciardo’s decision when it first happened. In a statement confirming the news of Ricciardo’s departure, Abiteboul said: “Reciprocated confidence, unity…