Assuming the news about Danny is true, I am not surprised to be honest. He has consistently out performed MV since he joined the team, yet MV still seems to be the "chosen one". The "emperors new clothes" springs to mind.
However given that DR still wants to be a WC and given that he will be unable to do that with Ferrari, Mercedes or RB, them the logical choice had to be either Renault or Maclaren (assuming Alonso decided to go). If not then Renault was the perfect choice.
Good luck to him.