Former Red Bull and McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo has opened up on the impact of his sudden retirement from F1 in 2024, explaining that while he initially had feelings of \u201cfailure and humiliation\u201d, he\u2019s now proud of his career.<\/p>\n
The Aussie was a key figure on the grid between 2011, when he made his mid-season debut with HRT, and 2024, achieving eight Grand Prix victories and a further 24 podiums in that time.<\/p>\n
Ricciardo<\/a> was renowned for his aggressive, late-braking driving style and infectious personality, but departed the sport immediately after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix following a frustrating season with Racing Bulls<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cYou start racing at such a young age and over the years you build a ruthlessness, but that also is inward as well,\u201d Ricciardo explained on the latest episode of official podcast F1 Beyond The Grid<\/a>. \u201cYou know, you can be very harsh on yourself and expect a lot from yourself.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that my view of it was [that I was] failing, not performing to the level I needed to at the time or not being able to finish out the season or whatever. It’s then a sense of humiliation, like I failed and I didn’t do what I once could. Trying to deal with those next few months, I understood it as I was just hiding from the humiliation.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople saw me out in public. I was having a good time and having a drink or whatever, and I was just really hiding from what I really felt deep inside, which was a lot of pain and sadness. You know, I was once this kid that was hoping at least to fight for a world title and obviously winning races or whatever, but now it’s like, oh, it’s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the disappointment around his retirement, Ricciardo admitted that he now appreciates Racing Bulls\u2019 decision to replace him with Liam Lawson<\/a> as it gave him the chance to find a life outside of F1.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cEveryone’s path is going to be different. I think actually the fear I had, in hindsight and learning how content I am not having that anymore, is that what if they kept just extending contracts for me? Would I keep doing it? Was I ever going to turn the tap off?<\/p>\n \u201cI know I wanted to at times. I can tell you right now in Monaco 2022 after the race, I’m sitting in my apartment talking to my team and I was like, \u2018I don’t want to do this anymore. I’m done\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I’ve had these conversations more than once over the years \u2013 Silverstone 2015 was another time. Sure, you have lows and whatever, but there’s moments where I’ve wanted to just get away from it. But the reality is, would I have?<\/p>\n \u201cI also think you have people around you that tell you a great tale, you can still do it, and you end up believing a lot of these voices. I know they don’t mean harm but you don’t really get a chance to have your own thoughts much.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that would have probably just continued, and maybe I’d still be racing and that’s also a scary thought. I still don’t like how it ended, but there’s also a part of me which is grateful that they pulled the trigger because I wouldn’t want to be doing it now.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Ricciardo isn\u2019t certain whether he\u2019ll return to racing in another series quite yet, he admitted that with the benefit of hindsight, he\u2019s reached a stage where he can reflect on his F1 career \u2013 which included spectacular wins in Monaco and Monza \u2013 with a sense of pride.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the aftermath of everything, I use the word failure and humiliation in these things, and I appreciate a lot of the stuff I’ve said probably feels very negative or heavy,\u201d he summarised. \u201cBut now that I’m out of that, I think being able to understand more [about] life and a lot of things around that, I look back now with much more of a smile than I did a couple years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cI am definitely proud. I think sometimes you also never really want to reflect that much, especially when you’re racing, because you nearly spook yourself. If I’m like, \u2018Oh wow, I did that\u2019, you\u2019re just like, no, can’t think about that. I\u2019ve just got to stay on it because it was all just weird for me.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe every F1 driver feels this, I don’t know, but there’s so few of us. It’s not imposter syndrome because I believe I was definitely good enough to be there and all that, but it’s like, how did this happen? You know, how am I one of the 20?<\/p>\n \u201cI’ve won races. It can be overwhelming to reflect. But now that I’m in, let’s say a good, even-keeled place, I’m extremely proud, shocked in many ways that it all happened.\u201d<\/p>\n To listen to this week\u2019s episode of F1 Beyond The Grid, simply hit go on the audio player above or click here<\/a> to listen via your preferred podcasting platform.<\/p>\n You can also check out a huge selection of previous episodes \u2013 spanning every decade of F1 \u2013 in our dedicated F1 Beyond The Grid library<\/a>.<\/p>\n