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Daniel Ricciardo is ‘grateful’ that the decision to walk away from Formula 1 was taken out of his hands by Red Bull and Racing Bulls. Ricciardo lost his drive to Liam Lawson with six races of the 2024 season remaining.
Ricciardo lost his F1 seat for the first time in 2022 when McLaren let him go to sign Oscar Piastri. In 2023, he was given a second chance at Red Bull’s sister team (then known as AlphaTauri) at the expense of Nyck de Vries.
The Australian’s comeback was disrupted by a broken hand at the Dutch GP, and while he held onto the seat for 2024, the growing pressure eventually told. The Singapore GP would be his final race as an F1 driver.
Who is the best F1 driver never to win a world championship?
‘I lost a little bit of something’ – Daniel Ricciardo reflects on F1 exit
Ricciardo didn’t officially announce his retirement from racing until last September, but he has now opened up on the ‘exhaustion’ he was experiencing during his last spell in F1.
The eight-time Grand Prix winner accepts that he lost ‘something’ compared to his peak at Red Bull. With hindsight, he was fighting a losing battle.
That’s why Ricciardo is ‘grateful’ that his future was taken out of his control. He finished his career with 257 Grand Prix starts, which ranks him inside the top 10 all-time.
“Ultimately, I got let go,” he told Ford CEO Jim Farley’s podcast. “That was the reality at the time. I think once that happened, I’d been let go twice in the last two years, and it had also taken a lot out of me.
“I’d put a lot of my soul into it. I was pretty exhausted by it. In reflection, I was grateful that they made the decision for me. I think it would have been hard to be like, ‘I’m done.’
“I think I knew I was probably done because 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 okay to admit it.”
How old is Daniel Ricciardo in comparison to current F1 drivers?
Ricciardo is currently 36 years old, so he would be the fourth-oldest driver on the grid if he were still racing.
Fernando Alonso is comfortably the oldest at 45, while Lewis Hamilton is also a quadragenarian. Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg, 38, doesn’t appear to have imminent retirement plans.
Ricciardo’s career ultimately spanned 13 years, beginning with HRT at the 2011 British Grand Prix and ending in that emotional race at Marina Bay.
Ricciardo offered his support to Lawson when the seat changed hands. His role as a Ford Racing ambassador means he’s still loosely tied to Red Bull, their technical partners.
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