Daniel Ricciardo remains absent from the Formula 1 paddock following the conclusion of his career at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, where Racing Bulls replaced the Australian driver with Liam Lawson for the remainder of that season. Motorsport.com reported that the eight-time Grand Prix winner has spent the subsequent two years largely out of the spotlight, prioritizing time at home over travel, while taking on a global ambassador role for Ford Racing.
The Emotional Toll of Paddock Exile
Speaking on the Beyond The Grid podcast hosted by Tom Clarkson, Ricciardo addressed why he has avoided visiting grand prix weekends.
“If you’d asked me a year ago, I would have said: ‘No, I never want to just be around it again’,” Ricciardo said, according to Motorsport.com. “At that time I felt a lot of pain, so it hurt too much to be around it. I was very negative about it.”
Ricciardo also reflected on working through his ego and the sense of an ego death when things collapsed around him, realizing his initial anti-paddock stance was partly his ego trying to protect itself. He noted that he still maintains relationships with various drivers, engineers, and mechanics, and even stayed late at the circuit on the evening of the 2024 Singapore race because he was unsure when he would return, though he felt that departure was somber and not how he wanted to say goodbye.
Relentless Travel Grind Keeps Former Driver Away from Circuits
The thought of managing the relentless travel of the current grand prix calendar also generates anxiety for the former Red Bull Racing competitor, keeping him away from circuits.
Weighing Broadcasting Against a New Chapter
While Ricciardo has stayed away from the paddock, other former grand prix drivers have pursued varied paths in motorsport. Robert Kubica, Kamui Kobayashi, and Nyck de Vries secured victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2025 and 2026, as noted by Motorsport.com. Meanwhile, contemporaries such as Jenson Button, David Coulthard, Heikki Kovalainen, Nico Rosberg, and Jacques Villeneuve transitioned into television broadcasting roles.
The Reality of Modern F1 Obligations
Ricciardo highlighted a distinct contrast between himself and current competitors like Max Verstappen or Fernando Alonso regarding their obsession with racing. Citing data discussed by George Russell, Ricciardo noted that modern drivers spend only about 17 percent of a grand prix weekend actually driving on the circuit, with the remaining time consumed by administrative and media obligations.
Ricciardo admitted that while his relationship with driving itself was damaged by peripheral duties, he does not share the relentless, day-and-night obsession exhibited by Verstappen. He explained that while he still loves the competition, the rest of the sport mattered less to him over time, and he spent recent years trying to heal his bond with driving to realize he genuinely enjoys it.
Reflecting on Red Bull and Le Mans Ambitions
Addressing his history with Red Bull, Ricciardo discussed his departure from Milton Keynes ahead of the 2018 season to join Renault, deciding to move to the Enstone-based squad because he felt he no longer had a future at Red Bull Racing. Reflecting on that career move years later, Ricciardo acknowledged the internal chaos at the time and admitted he sometimes wishes he had stayed, though he recognized that competing alongside Verstappen presented an immense challenge. Before his exit was finalized, he felt Red Bull was increasingly becoming Team Verstappen
and perceived less support for his side of the garage.
Looking toward future competition, Ricciardo is open to a potential one-off appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans to conclude his career on his own terms. Ricciardo named Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel as dream teammates for an endurance racing entry, framing a potential Le Mans appearance as a collaborative effort centered on shared data and teamwork rather than the individual rivalries characteristic of Formula 1.
Related reading
