Somaca issued the following announcement on Aug. 3.

Renault Sport Formula One Team is pleased to confirm the arrival of Daniel Ricciardo alongside Nico Hülkenberg as a regular driver starting in the 2019 season.

The 29-year-old from Perth, Australia, Daniel joins Renault Sport Formula One Team for the next two seasons.

Daniel Ricciardo has won 7 Grands Prix and has climbed 29 times on the podium. Daniel knows Renault very well since he was a driver in several Renault Junior Series between 2007 and 2011 and has been associated with our engine business since 2014.

Jérôme Stoll, President, Renault Sport Racing:

Renault has decided to return to Formula One with the clear goal of fighting for World Champion titles. Signing Daniel Ricciardo represents a unique opportunity to move towards this goal, and Renault could not miss this opportunity. We are happy to welcome Daniel to our team, which is still under construction, but more motivated than ever.

Cyril Abiteboul, Managing Director Renault Sport Racing:

The arrival of Daniel is a sign of our determination to accelerate our pace of progression to the top of the rankings. It is also the recognition of the work done for two and a half seasons. Daniel's undisputed talent and charism oblige us. We will have to overtake to give him the best car possible. It is with pride but also humility that we will welcome Daniel to our young team in 2019.

Daniel Ricciardo:

It was without a doubt one of the hardest decisions I had to make in my career, but I think it was a good time for me to embark on a new challenge. I know that there is still a lot of work to allow Renault to achieve its objective, which is to be at the highest level, but I was impressed by their progress in just two years and I know that every time Renault has launched this type of challenge, they finally succeeded. I hope to be able to help them on this track, both on and off the track.

Original source: https://media.group.renault.com/global/fr-fr/groupe-renault/media/pressreleases/21214786/daniel-ricciardo-rejoint-lecurie-renault-sport-formula-one-team-a-partir-de-2019