It is a year since Daniel Ricciardo stepped away from Formula 1 following the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
After a career that spanned more than a decade and netted eight race wins, he quietly climbed from the cockpit in Marina Bay without much in the way of fanfare, his career over \u2013 even if we didn\u2019t (officially) know it yet.<\/p>\n
What is Daniel Ricciardo\u2019s Formula 1 legacy?<\/p>\n
It was an emotionally charged weekend for the Australian. On the ground, it was clear that it was his swansong. Nobody could, or would, say as much, but the writing was on the wall.<\/p>\n
After the decision was made over the mid-season break to retain Sergio Perez at the senior team, Ricciardo\u2019s place within the organisation was at risk. If he wasn\u2019t going to be promoted alongside Max Verstappen, he was doing little more than occupying a seat that could be used to develop a talent that might one day graduate to the senior squad.<\/p>\n
That sad state of affairs is a result of two primary factors; first was the political environment within Red Bull, and where that left Ricciardo within its confused driver development programme this time a year ago. The second was his own inability to deliver results.<\/p>\n
There had been flashes of Ricciardo\u2019s early-career form since he returned to Red Bull\u2019s junior team \u2013 Mexico City 2023 and the Miami Sprint in 2024 both instantly come to mind \u2013 but they had been few and far between. For a driver who had once proved a frequent annoyance to the all-conquering Mercedes operation, it wasn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n
Now, a year on, Ricciardo has all but left F1 behind. He has made precious few public appearances, refused most interview requests (and those he\u2019s done have been a result of endorsements). It was through one such announcement, in conjunction with a new relationship with Ford, that he finally, officially confirmed he had retired from motorsport.<\/p>\n
And so now, a year divorced from the emotion that charged that final night in Singapore, we can reflect: what is Daniel Ricciardo\u2019s F1 legacy?<\/p>\n
Throughout his career, Ricciardo remained much the same person.<\/p>\n
From his earliest days he was jovial, relaxed, a larrikin. Even from his earliest weekends in F1 he possessed an infectious smile and enthusiastic and passionate personality. That began to truly shine through once he\u2019d landed at Toro Rosso \u2013 when he was with the back-of-the-grid HRT squad, nobody much bothered him. But the personality was there; he was cheeky, if a little more highly strung, and slightly less relaxed than he became once he\u2019d grown into the sport.<\/p>\n
That process began to happen at Toro Rosso. Leaving a media session in Germany I recall a conversation we had as we rose from the table in the Energy Station.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve just been watching the game out the back, have you seen the score,\u201d he asked, referencing an AFL game involving his beloved West Coast Eagles.<\/p>\n
Engrossed in work that weekend, I hadn\u2019t, so I asked admitted, \u201cNo, I haven\u2019t. What\u2019s the score?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re get getting thumped,\u201d he confessed.<\/p>\n
At this point, I must admit, I\u2019m not an AFL fan, but maintain an exposure to it as any Australian does.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, who were you playing?\u201d I enquire.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdelaide.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know I\u2019m from Adelaide, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, you can go f**k yourself then,\u201d he declares, with a broad smile and a jovial shove.<\/p>\n
Unbeknownst to me, having got up from the table where we\u2019d been speaking as part of the media call, I hadn\u2019t turned off my recorder. More than a decade on, I still have a recording of our off-the-cuff exchange, an audio file that is uniquely Daniel, who famously declared, \u201cathletes sweat.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s far from an isolated exchange; when we crossed paths in the paddock in Singapore in 2023, with a broken wrist following his Zandvoort crash, he used his good hand to give me a quick jab to the arm, in a friendly sort of way. Without braking stride, he walked away giggling to himself while I sported a small bruise for the remainder of the weekend.<\/p>\n
That was the Daniel Ricciardo in the paddock. He was fun, friendly, and often unpredictable. He injected something into the paddock that couldn\u2019t be measured.<\/p>\n
It is why he shined in \u2018Drive to Survive\u2019. His personality there wasn\u2019t especially played up for the camera; that is what Ricciardo is like as a person. Fun, bubbly. There\u2019s a deep side to him, and at times that comes through, but it\u2019s only ever a heart-beat away from a joke.<\/p>\n
His personality stood out because it was so starkly different to his contemporaries, who rarely joked and were far more serious in their dealings with the media. Though a different person and personality, Lewis Hamilton has forged a strong connection with his fans because he is his genuine self. And there\u2019s something human about that, something that appeals, and perhaps that explains why Ricciardo amassed such a significant following among the fans. He was fun, unique, and seemingly genuine and honest.<\/p>\n
Of course, part of his appeal is his swashbuckling antics on track. At his peak, Ricciardo was uncompromising, deliberately so. He recognised early on that he couldn\u2019t allowed himself to be pushed around, else he\u2019d always be pushed around. He stood up for himself and, in the process, developed a reputation as a hard-nosed racer who was good on the brakes.<\/p>\n
His first win might have been inherited when Mercedes struck issues in Canada in 2014, but to capitalise he still had to be the best of the rest. And on that day, he had the measure of his four-time world champion teammate Sebastian Vettel.<\/p>\n
By the end of that season, he\u2019d added two more wins and emerged as the best non-Mercedes driver on the grid. From a driver in his first season with a front-running team, it\u2019s a noteworthy result. Given he\u2019d pipped the man who\u2019d just won four titles on the bounce, it also marked Ricciardo out as an exciting young prospect, a potential world champion even.<\/p>\n
And perhaps in a different car in a different era he would have been. Ricciardo\u2019s time with Red Bull overlapped both the period of utter domination by Mercedes, and the arrival of Max Verstappen \u2013 who will be considered among the very best F1 has ever seen. Against the Dutchman, even being remarkable isn\u2019t good enough.<\/p>\n
It is that point which clouds Ricciardo\u2019s legacy. A race winner, probably a title contender given the opportunity, it was something that never played out for him. The timing just wasn\u2019t quite right.<\/p>\n
By the time Red Bull was in a position to end Mercedes\u2019s run, Verstappen was established and unlikely to be beaten \u2013 not because the team rallied around him so much as he is a prodigious talent the likes of which are seldom seen. Every driver that reaches F1 is incredible, but Verstappen is phenomenal in the same way Lewis Hamilton, Ayrton Senna, and such were.<\/p>\n
Ricciardo\u2019s decision to leave Red Bull was therefore understandable. To remain would mean to become, by default, the team\u2019s second driver \u2013 it was clear where Verstappen\u2019s talents would take him. To stay was to give up on winning the world champion.<\/p>\n
Hence, in leaving Red Bull, there was really nothing to lose. He\u2019d won races, demonstrated his credentials, and in the right circumstance could have led a team to glory. He needed to find a home that was, or could become, what Red Bull had been.<\/p>\n
More on Daniel Ricciardo<\/p>\n
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