Daniel Ricciardo on how he knew time was right for F1 exit: "Grateful" Racing Bulls made the call

Former Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo has opened up about knowing when it was the right time to retire from the championship in a candid interview with Ford CEO Jim Farley.

The Australian driver made his F1 debut in 2011 when he was loaned out by Red Bull to Hispania Racing to replace Narain Karthikeyan for the remaining 11 races of the season. By the end of the year he was promoted to a full-time contract with Toro Rosso, now known as Racing Bulls, for 2012.

Over his 14 seasons in F1, Ricciardo achieved eight grand prix wins, 32 podium finishes, three pole positions and 17 fastest laps. But after moving to McLaren from Renault in 2021, things began to go downhill.

He admitted that he struggled in his second year with the Woking outfit and ultimately was left without a full-time seat for 2023. The eight-time grand prix winner returned to Red Bull as a reserve driver. During his discussion with Farley, he revealed that this was one of the first moments that he questioned whether he was done in the series, but he knew he had more to give.

"I definitely had to try and understand a lot [in] the last 12 months about the career coming to an end, and its timing, because you're not really going to get it back once it's gone for the most part," he explained.

"So 2022, I struggled a lot in my second year at McLaren. They let me go. So then 2023, I started without a seat and I was like, 'Is this maybe it? Do I just call it now?' But I knew there was still some burning desire in me.

"And that's where I really needed to try and look at myself in the mirror, and was like, 'OK, forget what the people say and what they want, what do you want?'"

Daniel Ricciardo , Drive to Survive Season 7

Photo by: Netflix

When asked if that was a personal moment or if he talked about it within his close circles, he added: "I tried to make it as personal as possible. There are still opinions, even if it's your parents or whatever, but ultimately, I did my best to make sure that there was still that fire inside my gut."

Ricciardo didn't have to wait long before he was back in a full-time seat, replacing Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls). 

"So I got back into the seat halfway through the season. I got a drive, second or third race in, I broke my hand, and it was such a nothing accident, but I missed however many races.

"So that happened, and I was like, 'Well, I've never really hurt myself racing all these years, and I have a silly crash, is this now a bit of a sign? Should I just quit while I'm ahead nearly?'

"And I was like, 'No, there's still unfinished business,' and I pushed through it."

Once he returned after his injury, Ricciardo remained with Racing Bulls for 2024 but was replaced by Liam Lawson after the Singapore Grand Prix. While it was the team's choice, Ricciardo admitted that he was grateful that they had made the decision for him.

"I lasted another year in F1, and then ultimately got let go. That was the reality at the time. But I think once that happened, I'd been let go twice in the last two years. It had also taken a lot out of me. I'd put a lot of my soul into it, and I did feel pretty exhausted by it. In reflection, I was grateful that they made the decision for me."