The F1 world was hit with a massive bombshell on Friday when it was announced Daniel Ricciardo had decided to turn down a new contract with Red Bull.Despite team boss Christian Horner claiming a new deal was close only last month, the 29-year-old has since decided to make the move to Renault.Ricciardo is currently fifth in the driver standings, 14 points adrift of Valtteri Bottas in fourth, and has two victories under his belt this season.His move to Renault has undoubtedly caught many by surprise, especially considering both Ferrari and Mercedes were also in the frame to capture his services.It could be argued that a move to Renault will make the Australian the main man after being level on ability with Max Verstappen recently.With speculation surrounding whether Kimi Raikkonen will hang up his helmet at the end of the season at Ferrari, it seemed all but certain Ricciardo was going to end up there.However, it would take some doing to exceed the qualities of Sebastian Vettel.At Renault, though, he is more likely become the star figure ahead of teammate Nico Hulkenberg and therefore, that may have swayed Ricciardo’s decision.Both Red Bull and Renault use the same engine with the former exploiting it significantly better than Ricciardo’s new side which poses more questions as to why he made the move.Mercedes, Ferrari and current side Red Bull are undoubtedly the powerhouses in Formula One, occupying the top three spots in the standings for many years now.With that in mind, it appeared all but certain that one of the three would have Ricciardo in their side come the start of next season.Why wouldn’t he position himself amongst the elite?However, it’s Renault who are the lucky ones, but it definitely appears that the Perth-born racer has made a backwards move in his career.

The fans certainly think so anyway.

What’s unclear is what exactly prompted Ricciardo to make the step-down but what is for definite is Renault will be a whole lot stronger come next season.