Beloved Australian icon Daniel Ricciardo has laid bare the reality of his Formula 1 axing in 2024 after the Singapore Grand Prix.
After being thrown a lifeline from Racing Bulls to replace Nyck De Vries mid-way through 2023, Ricciardo was replaced in similar fashion with six races to go by Liam Lawson.
“It was obviously not the fairytale ending; Singapore was hard for me and it definitely played with the heartstrings and all of that,” Ricciardo told Esses magazine.
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“But I think it speaks to the relationships I had with a lot of the team members and people in the business and Red Bull.
Daniel Ricciardo Getty
“It was nice for me to remove myself, be at peace with 12 months ago, and now come into this with – I don’t know – a bit of warmth.”
F1 is an all-consuming sport for drivers and their support network, flying to 24 races a season on five different continents.
Ricciardo lived and breathed the high-profile sport for 14 years so for the 36-year-old, the last year has been quite the adjustment period.
“It can probably frustrate at times, but I think it can also be appreciated,” he added.
“Like, yes, Daniel can be f—–g annoying, but he also really cares, and he’s looking at every detail. I think it’s just acknowledging that F1 is literally on another planet, and I can keep some things from that, but a lot of it, I just need to let go.
“Everyday life just does not operate like F1. If you treat it like that, you will just go crazy.
“I’m 36 now, and pretty much my whole life revolved around me.
“I was the centre of attention. I had to put myself first for everything: training, diet, what restaurants we go to. Just everything.
“It’s nice to take a step back and give that kind of energy to other people.”
“Other people” include F1 Academy driver Rafaela Ferreira, who Ricciardo now creates clothes to wear on and off the track through his well known clothing brand, Enchante.
Tied together by the VCARB connection, as Ricciardo is now a Ford Racing ambassador, his clothing line Enchante has become an extension of Ricciardo’s life off track.
“This was a business built around wanting to do cool shit. It wasn’t built around, ‘Oh, let’s get rich.’ That was never the talk. It was never the objective.”