Speaking to F1 podcast <\/a>Beyond the Grid<\/a>, Ricciardo admitted that the \u201chumiliation\u201d of his sacking had kept him away from motorsport but that a visit to this year\u2019s Indianapolis 500 \u2014 his first appearance at a racetrack of any description \u2014 had played a role in rehabilitating his passion for competition. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m at a place now where I\u2019m actually probably more open [to the thought of a comeback] than I was in the last two years,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cI went to the Indy 500 this year. It made me feel a love for it and a love for racing, a love for competing. I didn\u2019t think I would like it as much. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m at a place now where I think my relationship with driving\/racing is healthier than it was. <\/p>\n \u201cDo I hate last time I put a helmet on was in Singapore and how such a love over my life of racing ended and the taste it left in my mouth about it all? <\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I don\u2019t like that, because I was very bitter towards the idea of anything racing after that, and I felt how it ended made me feel a certain way about the last 20 years, not just that. <\/p>\n \u201cI would love to have had a nicer ending, but I need to make sure that it\u2019s for the right reasons and I\u2019m not just doing it to create a fairytale and to have the last line in the book that has a smile and it\u2019s not some sadness.\u201d<\/p>\n Ricciardo has been connected to the 24 Hours of Le Mans through Ford, which is returning to the premier sports car race next year. Earlier this year Ford global racing director Mark Rushbrook teased an openness to giving the Australian a seat alongside Max Verstappen, who has a well-established interest in competing at Le Mans. <\/p>\n The Australian has declared himself retired from full-time competition, but with two years out of motorsport, he said he was coming around to the idea of returning to racing in a limited capacity. <\/p>\n \u201cA year ago I would have said I will never put a helmet on again, I\u2019m done,\u201d he said. \u201cBut there is something there where it would be nice for me to finish a racing career a bit more on my terms, so to do something when I take the helmet off I\u2019m smiling and happy. Maybe that\u2019s the last bit of closure I need.\u201d <\/p>\n Asked specifically about an appearance at Le Mans, Ricciardo was notably positive. <\/p>\n \u201cMaybe there\u2019s one of those scenarios for sure that could perk me up,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cI think also, yes, to take the helmet off and have a better view of racing than what I had after Singapore and all that, sure, that would be a nicer form of closure. <\/p>\n \u201cBut there are things that I think of with Le Mans [that would be positive]. <\/p>\n \u201cF1 is so selfish in a necessary way. Yes, you have teammates, but they\u2019re your first opponent. I think to share a car with other drivers and to actually have real teammates to share data with and help out, [I think I would like that]. <\/p>\n \u201cEspecially now, at this point where that insane fire and ruthlessness have faded to a degree, I think that style, I would just enjoy it. <\/p>\n \u201cI think it would be the form of driving and companionship that I would really enjoy, and I think it would make me smile and feel good about the art of competition again.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked who he would like to race with, he namechecked Verstappen.<\/p>\n \u201cGive the people what they want!\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen and former Red Bull F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo at a Ford Racing event in the United States.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n HUMILIATION AND FAILURE<\/p>\n Ricciardo\u2019s journey to contemplating a limited racing comeback has been long and complicated. <\/p>\n His exit from the sport was sudden and in many respected badly handled. Though it became clear during the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix weekend that he would be replaced by Liam Lawson, official confirmation did not come until days after the fact, via press release. <\/p>\n That the decision came only months after he had been told he would replace Sergio P\u00e9rez at Red Bull Racing \u2014 only for the team to reverse that decision and stick with the Mexican, who was also sacked at the end of the season \u2014 made things only more bitter. <\/p>\n In a remarkably candid interview, Ricciardo said he struggled with feelings of humiliation and failure in the aftermath of his sacking. <\/p>\n \u201cI think the first phase straight after Singapore was still trying to stay tall and strong,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a coping mechanism or a defence mechanism or trying to outwardly project that I\u2019m fine and it\u2019s all good \u2014 kind of ultimately hiding from a feeling of humiliation. <\/p>\n \u201cThat was the first phase, just thinking everything was okay, but obviously I was very hurt inside. <\/p>\n \u201cThen I think once things settled \u2026 there was a little bit of, \u2018Okay, where am I at? Where am I at with life?\u2019 <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been many days in the last two years that I\u2019ve woken up without a purpose and days just tick by and you\u2019re like, \u2018Okay, what am I doing with my life?\u2019 and you feel like a failure, honestly. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very, very confronting to say to yourself when you look at yourself in the mirror, \u2018I\u2019m a failure. I\u2019ve achieved absolutely nothing this week, and days have just ticked by\u2019 and, \u2018What am I doing with my life?\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cI think 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 laughing and 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 \u2014 like, \u2018Shit, it\u2019s gone\u2019. <\/p>\n \u201cI was once this kid that was hoping at least to fight for a world title and obviously win races or whatever, but now it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s gone\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n Daniel Ricciardo at his final grand prix in Singapore. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n \u2018GRATEFUL\u2019 RED BULL PULLED THE TRIGGER<\/p>\n Deep down, however, Ricciardo knew he was done. He had been contemplating the end of his career for years. <\/p>\n \u201cI thought \u2026 I was still hungry and wanted to try to prove something, mainly to myself [after being sacked],\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cBut there were moments where I was done and I think also in denial. <\/p>\n \u201cThere were definitely times that I was like, \u2018I don\u2019t love this anymore. I don\u2019t really want to be here\u2019. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like, \u2018Okay, sleep it off. You\u2019ll get there and you\u2019ll be fine\u2019. And then maybe you have one good race or one moment and you\u2019re like, \u2018Yeah, I\u2019ve got the fire back\u2019. <\/p>\n \u201cI still wanted the fairytale of course. I wanted to get back with Red Bull Racing, and I would have loved to have been teammates with Max again and tried to race at the front again. <\/p>\n \u201cBut I knew also deep down I was getting just more burnt out by it all. <\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t as easy for me anymore to perform and compete at the level that I once did. <\/p>\n \u201cI think there was just a lot of pain, process \u2014 a lot of things that just were happening and had happened over the years that I think had just built up, and it just very hard for me to probably shut all that out and do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Daniel Ricciardo at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n He singled out the weekend of the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix as a particularly difficult moment, having been belted by teammate Lando Norris in qualifying and finishing abjectly scoreless at a circuit at which he\u2019d previously been ferociously quick. <\/p>\n It was notably the same weekend McLaren CEO Zak Brown first revealed he was contemplating cancelling Ricciardo\u2019s contract in the middle of a second difficult season together. <\/p>\n \u201cAfter the race I\u2019m sitting in my apartment talking to my team and I was like, \u2018Guys, I don\u2019t want to do this anymore. I\u2019m done.\u2019 <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had these conversations more than once over the years.\u201d <\/p>\n Not only did Ricciardo not pull the plug, but he didn\u2019t accept being sacked by McLaren, immediately tying up with Red Bull in a bid to get back onto the grid, potentially with Red Bull Racing. <\/p>\n In retrospect Ricciardo wondered whether he would ever have had enough self-awareness to quit the sport, even in his most difficult moments. <\/p>\n \u201cThe fear I had \u2026 is that what if they kept just extending contracts for me? Would I keep doing it? <\/p>\n \u201cWas I ever going to turn the tap off? Because I know I wanted to \u2026 but the reality is: would I have? <\/p>\n \u201cBecause I think also you have people around you that tell you you\u2019re great, tell you can still do it, and you end up also believing a lot of these voices. <\/p>\n \u201cI think that would have probably just continued, and maybe I\u2019d still be racing, and that\u2019s also a scary thought. <\/p>\n \u201cI still don\u2019t like how it ended, but there\u2019s also a part of me which is grateful that they pulled the trigger, because I wouldn\u2019t want to be doing it now.\u201d<\/p>\n Daniel Ricciardo after winning the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix. (Photo by Dan Istitene\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n THAT RED BULL RACING QUESTION<\/p>\n The hinge of Ricciardo\u2019s career was his 2018 decision to quit Red Bull Racing and join Renault. <\/p>\n It stunned the team and most observers given RBR\u2019s title-winning status at a time Renault has only recently returned to the sport. <\/p>\n Though Ricciardo was debatably in his prime in 2020, the switch precipitated his career decline, leading to his ill-fated move to McLaren 2022, his sacking at the end of the following season and his abortive attempt to rejoin Red Bull Racing that ended in his enforced retirement. <\/p>\n Max Verstappen won all four of his world titles with Red Bull Racing in the final four years of Ricciardo\u2019s career. <\/p>\n Ricciardo wouldn\u2019t speculate on whether he could have fulfilled his championship potential but admitted the decision to quit the team clearly didn\u2019t end the way he\u2019d hoped at the time. <\/p>\n \u201cI definitely don\u2019t want to say, \u2018Oh yeah, I would have been world champion if I stayed\u2019 because I think it\u2019s not a reality that was lived, and Max has gone on to prove that he is one of the best ever, so I don\u2019t want to dismiss that as well and be like, \u2018Yeah, I would have beat Max and become world champion\u2019,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t have been an easy task, but I think it\u2019s also maybe a bit unfair towards him to say that \u2014 obviously I respect him a lot. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s also reality where Max just kept getting better and kept getting momentum. Would I have kept lifting? It\u2019s hard to say. But for sure at that time I felt very able. Obviously I won some races that 2018 year, and I got a pole. I was still very capable. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not doubting my abilities to have kept competing with Max, but it\u2019s a hard one.\u201d<\/p>\n Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen on track (Photo by Dan Istitene\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n He admitted, though, that not finding out whether he could have contended for a title alongside Verstappen is perhaps his biggest career regret. <\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019m to answer it shortly: yes, I wish I would have stayed, but I don\u2019t know. <\/p>\n \u201cAt the time I left, because I felt I was getting a bit comfortable, a bit complacent, I think there was a desire to try something else. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that black and white. If I could have been a world champion, yes. Was that my best opportunity? Yeah, absolutely. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to say it haunts me, but it\u2019s the one unknown that I\u2019m so interested [in] how that would have panned out.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cIf I could relive it again, would I stay and am I absolutely curious about what would have happened? Yes, the answer is yes. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you want to call it regret or curiosity or whatever, then I will say yes.\u201d <\/p>\n But Ricciardo said that he remained proud of his career despite the way it ended, particularly for the legacy he left. <\/p>\n \u201cI am definitely proud,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cI just never thought that kid would end up being a race-winner and someone in F1 who also had a long career and \u2014 if I can say without being arrogant \u2014 left a mark on a sport. <\/p>\n \u201cAll these things, I\u2019m proud of that. <\/p>\n \u201cF*** it, I do believe my overtaking and stuff did break through something. <\/p>\n \u201cI see so many more dummies, and I feel like my style of overtakes happen these days. I at least played a part in that for sure. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m proud of a lot of these things … I\u2019m proud to have made an impact on the sport. I can\u2019t deny that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Daniel Ricciardo has teased a potential racing comeback in a bid to end his motorsport career on his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":944745,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,85],"class_list":["post-944744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=944744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/944745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=944744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=944744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=944744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Daniel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/7da1ebf571960d59c1da890229f3d680.jpeg\")
Daniel Ricciardo with a Ford Raptor T1+. Picture: SuppliedSource: Supplied Source Known<\/p>\n