Australian F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo will take a cut to his massive $78million contract as sport struggles through the coronavirus pandemic
- Australian Daniel Ricciardo is on a two-year $78 million contract with Renault
- Renault's Formula 1 team recently placed most staff on temporary leave
- Ricciardo is rumoured to be in talks to leave the french team at the end of 2020
- The Melbourne GP was cancelled in March after an engineer caught COVID-19
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo has taken a pay cut from his rumoured $78million contract amid the coronavirus pandemic halting all races this season
Daniel Ricciardo has agreed to take a pay cut as his Renault Formula 1 team struggles to gather funds after the coronavirus pandemic put a halt to the 2020 season.
The 30-year-old athlete signed his two-year contract with Renault, estimated at $78 million, last year but has so far not driven a single race this season.
Team boss Cyril Abiteboul told a French newspaper his driver had agreed to take a pay cut after already placing staff at their Enstone factory on temporary leave.
'It's a discussion we've already had. Daniel has already confirmed he is willing ... I can confirm to you that he will reduce it,' he said.
Ricciardo is set to renegotiate his deal with Renault at the end of the year when his contract ends amid rumours the Australian could move to another team.
The driver is said to be anxious to sign up with a team that has a car capable of winning a world championship after making a leap of faith from Red Bull that did not pay off last season.
Mr Abiteboul said normally his team would have started evaluating their drivers based on their performance in the first four races.
'We may have to make decisions without the season starting,' he said.
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Mr Abiteboul said plans are in place to recruit another driver if Ricciardo decides to leave the team.
'That's why we are having discussions and have a driver academy,' he said.
The Formula 1 2020 season was thrown into turmoil after an engineer from McLaren tested positive to coronavirus at the Melbourne GP in the first race of the year.
It led to a the GP being cancelled by the the FIA who later scrapped or postponed eight races with the most recent being in Canada.
Rumours speculate Ricciardo could leave Renault at the end of the year but team boss Cyril Abiteboul said they have plans in place if he moves
Australians react after the Melbourne GP was cancelled due to the coronavirus with eight races following either cancelled outright or postponed
While many countries are starting to control the infection rate of coronavirus, lifting restrictions that would allow a race to go forward would be difficult.
F1 boss Ross Brawn said last week the series would likely resume in Europe behind closed doors.
'We could have a very enclosed environment, where teams come in on charters, we channel them into the circuit, we make sure everyone is tested, cleared and that there is no risk to anyone,' he told Sky Sports.
'We have a race with no spectators. That's not great, but it's better than no racing at all. We have to remember there are millions of people who follow the sport sat at home.'
The season would be shortened to 18 to 19 races if the first took place in July.
F1 boss Ross Brawn said last week the series would likely resume in Europe behind closed doors. Pictured is Ricciardo with his former teammate Nico Hulkenberg and racing legend Alain Prost
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