McLaren CEO Zak Brown has said that he was “pretty close” to roping in Daniel Ricciardo for the 2019 season. On Friday, a bombshell was dropped that the Australian was leaving Red Bull. Rival team Renault immediately pounced and inked a deal with him. The 2018 season will mark the final year of his long run in the Red Bull programme.

Meanwhile, McLaren’s 2019 line-up remains unclear so far. Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne have not confirmed their seats yet and time is running out. Brown said that they held a few meetings and discussed a potential deal. However, the American believes that McLaren’s current poor form is what swung Ricciardo’s decision in Renault’s favour.

“We had a couple of meetings and we are big fans of Daniel,” Brown said. “I think he’s a great guy, I think he’s a great race car driver. How close we came to getting him, I think only Daniel knows the answer to that question. Had we been running more competitively I think that would have increased our odds.”

Brown was aware that he had a strong desire to leave Red Bull. He also realised that things were quite close between McLaren and Renault for Daniel’s signature. The Perth driver was the kind of person that the Woking team rated very highly.

The McLaren CEO was also questioned about the Alonso situation and if he would leave. However, Brown replied: “I think it’s thrown a spanner in the works for some other teams but we’ve got a plan which we are executing against which Ricciardo’s move doesn’t impact.

“Red Bull is a great racing team but I think Fernando has got what he wants to do in the back of his mind. Never say never, but I don’t think it changes anything in Fernando’s world.”