Daniel Ricciardo Reflects on His F1 Career and the Relief of Being Sacked
Daniel Ricciardo, the 36-year-old Australian Formula 1 driver, has shared a rare insight into his decision to step away from the sport. In an appearance on Ford chief executive Jim Farley’s Drive podcast, Ricciardo expressed that he is “grateful” he was let go from F1.
Since his final race at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, Ricciardo has remained relatively quiet. He revealed that he had been considering walking away from the sport for a year before the decision was made for him.
A Tumultuous Career in F1
Ricciardo’s career in Formula 1 has been anything but smooth. After leaving Red Bull at the end of 2018, he spent two years at Renault before joining McLaren alongside Lando Norris. Although he led Norris to a 1-2 finish in the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, the following season proved challenging due to the introduction of ground effects aerodynamics.
He was eventually replaced by Oscar Piastri and spent six months on the sidelines before returning to the sport in Hungary. During practice at Zandvoort, Ricciardo ironically followed Piastri into the wall at turn three, resulting in a broken hand that kept him out of the next six races.
“I was like ‘well, I’ve never really hurt myself racing all these years, and I have a silly crash and I was like, OK, is this now a bit of a sign? Should I just quit while I’m ahead,” he said.
Despite the setback, Ricciardo felt he had “unfinished business” and decided to push through.
The Emotional Toll of Being Let Go
After a year in F1, Ricciardo was ultimately sacked again. He described the experience as emotionally draining. “I think once that happened, I’d had been let go twice in the last two years. And I was like, ‘look, it had taken a lot out of me, I’d put a lot of my soul into it’.”
However, he admitted that being let go without fanfare or a proper farewell was difficult. “I did feel pretty exhausted by it. In reflection, I was grateful that they made the decision for me because I think it would have been hard to say ‘I’m done’.”
Ricciardo acknowledged that he knew he was probably done with the sport. “I knew it was harder for me to perform at the level I could. For whatever reason, I lost a little bit of something and it’s OK to admit it.”
Moving On from F1
Ricciardo has since stepped away from the sport entirely. He said he has zero interest in making a return to the F1 grid. “There’s people that love you and will still tell you that you’re great and you can do it, but as much as you love them as well, you need to just close the door and make that decision on your own and be really honest with yourself.”
He reflected on his retirement year, saying that he gave himself time to reflect on his career and find peace with it. “Last year, my retirement year, I gave myself a lot of time to just reflect on my career, to be at peace with it.”
New Ventures and Future Plans
Today, Ricciardo is a Ford Racing global ambassador and has reunited with Max Verstappen on several occasions to drive various bits of Ford machinery. He also continues to work on his Enchante fashion brand.
