Here’s the thing about leaving Formula 1: when you spend your whole life building a ruthless inward standard, the crash back down to earth is brutal. Daniel Ricciardo has been completely candid about what followed his sudden exit from the grid, admitting that the immediate aftermath of his departure brought heavy feelings of failure and humiliation.
The Aussie was a fixture of the paddock from his mid-season debut with HRT in 2011 all the way to the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, where his time with Racing Bulls came to an end following a frustrating campaign. Across those years, he secured eight Grand Prix victories and twenty-four podiums, relying on that famous aggressive, late-braking style and an infectious personality. But when it stopped, the silence was deafening.
Speaking on the official podcast F1 Beyond The Grid, Ricciardo laid bare the reality of what he was dealing with behind closed doors while out in public. People saw him having a good time and a drink, but he was actually hiding from intense pain and sadness. He had grown up as a kid hoping to fight for a world title, and suddenly, that dream was gone. He felt he was failing, not performing to the required level, and unable to finish out the season.
Yet, with the benefit of hindsight, the perspective has shifted dramatically. Ricciardo now admits he appreciates Racing Bulls’ decision to replace him with Liam Lawson because it forced open a door to life outside the paddock. Without that push, he wonders if he ever would have turned the tap off himself. He confessed to having moments over the years where he wanted to walk away entirely—sitting in his apartment after the race in Monaco 2022 telling his team he was done, and feeling the same way back at Silverstone 2015. But between the lows, the external voices telling great tales kept him hooked.
That cycle of being talked into staying is a scary thought to look back on now. Though he still dislikes how his time in the sport ended, he is ultimately grateful that the team pulled the trigger. It saved him from a loop of endless contract extensions.
Today, uncertainty remains over whether he will race in another series, but the dark days of heavy self-doubt have given way to genuine peace. Looking back on spectacular wins in Monaco and Monza, the overwhelming feeling is no longer pain, but pride and shock that it all actually happened.
