Ricciardo "wanted to make a statement" with Monza F1 victory
Daniel Ricciardo says he "wanted to make a statement" with the fashion of his Monza Formula 1 victory last September following a difficult first half of the season with McLaren.

Ricciardo joined McLaren from Renault on a three-year deal starting in 2021, but struggled to get up to speed with the team at first, leaving teammate Lando Norris to score the majority of its points.
But Ricciardo bounced back after the summer break to score a dominant victory in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, marking McLaren's first win since Brazil 2012.
Ricciardo had been fighting at the front of the field throughout the weekend, qualifying fifth before finishing the sprint race in third place. He took the lead of the grand prix off the line, and led all but five laps en route to victory, setting the fastest lap while taking the chequered flag.
The performance was followed by a memorable radio message from Ricciardo, who said that he "never left" but just "moved aside for a while".
Ricciardo explained that his radio message came to him "in the moment", and was a movie quote that he had previously shared with his previous performance coach, but that it tied in to the significance of making a statement with his Monza display.
"I think it's from a movie where he's like, 'I never left, I just moved aside!' or something, we would joke about that sometimes," Ricciardo said in an end-of-season interview including Motorsport.com.
"But I guess the 'I never left' thing, it was part from that. But it wasn't like I wasn't planning it.
"I want to say I may have hesitated, because I didn't want to be like Valtteri where it's like, 'to whom it may concern'. I don't want it to be a sound clip to be like, 'fuck everyone!'
"But I definitely felt like there was a lot of people who had written me off and also that weekend, something was over me. Like, I wasn't surprised with how the result turned out.

Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL35M, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF21, and the rest of the field at the start
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
"Even like the fastest lap on the last lap. There was just a lot of stuff that I wanted to just put out there and I was like, I just wanted to make a statement.
"So in the end, it was 'I never left' but the whole weekend, I felt like every day I was making some form of statement to myself at least."
Ricciardo managed to outscore Norris through the second half of the season (65-47), recovering from what he called a "nearly laughable" start to the year.
But the Australian said he felt at peace with how the season had started upon beginning the summer break, and was in a very different place by the time racing resumed in Belgium at the end of August.
"I remember flying back actually [after Hungary] and I felt at peace with having the time off and getting back to Europe," Ricciardo said.
"I felt like the break gave me what I needed. And I truly did feel different getting into the car at Spa. I just felt light again.
"The first half of the season, I guess was weighing on me. And I felt like I'd got rid of a lot of that, which was good for me."
Related video

Alpine 'very encouraged' by 2021 F1 season progress
How F1 pulled off its second pandemic season and its 2022 implications

Latest news
Diriyah E-Prix: Ticktum tops Friday practice from Buemi
Dan Ticktum topped the second Diriyah E-Prix free practice session with a 1m10.099s, seeing off a late challenge from 2015-16 Formula E champion Sebastien Buemi.
Why Vasseur relishes 'feeling the pressure' as Ferrari's F1 boss
OPINION: Fred Vasseur has spent only a few weeks as team principal for the Ferrari Formula 1 team, but is already intent on taking the Scuderia back to the very top. And despite it being arguably the most demanding job in motorsport, the Frenchman is relishing the challenge
Toyota WRC boss Latvala plotting rally return
Toyota World Rally Championship boss Jari-Matti Latvala is plotting a competitive rally return with an outing behind the wheel of Toyota’s new Rally2 GR Yaris.
Why Vasseur isn't wielding the axe on Ferrari's F1 strategy team
As Ferrari reflected on the lost opportunities of the 2022 Formula 1 season, it did not take a genius to understand that strategy had been one of its core weaknesses.
Why Vasseur relishes 'feeling the pressure' as Ferrari's F1 boss
OPINION: Fred Vasseur has spent only a few weeks as team principal for the Ferrari Formula 1 team, but is already intent on taking the Scuderia back to the very top. And despite it being arguably the most demanding job in motorsport, the Frenchman is relishing the challenge
The crucial tech changes F1 teams must adapt to in 2023
Changes to the regulations for season two of Formula 1's ground-effects era aim to smooth out last year’s troubles and shut down loopholes. But what areas have been targeted, and what impact will this have?
Are these the 50 quickest drivers in F1 history?
Who are the quickest drivers in Formula 1 history? Luke Smith asked a jury of experienced and international panel of experts and F1 insiders. Some of them have worked closely with F1’s fastest-ever drivers – so who better to vote on our all-time top 50? We’re talking all-out speed here rather than size of trophy cabinet, so the results may surprise you…
One easy way the FIA could instantly improve F1
OPINION: During what is traditionally a very quiet time of year in the Formula 1 news cycle, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been generating headlines. He’s been commenting on massive topics in a championship that loves them, but also addressing necessary smaller changes too. Here we suggest a further refinement that would be a big boon to fans
How can McLaren keep hold of Norris?
Lando Norris is no longer the young cheeky-chappy at McLaren; he’s now the established ace. And F1's big guns will come calling if the team can’t give him a competitive car. Here's what the team needs to do to retain its prize asset
What difference did F1's fastest pitstops of 2022 make?
While a quick pitstop can make all the difference to the outcome of a Formula 1 race, most team managers say consistency is more important than pure speed. MATT KEW analyses the fastest pitstops from last season to see which ones – if any – made a genuine impact
When F1 'holiday' races kept drivers busy through the winter
Modern Formula 1 fans have grown accustomed to a lull in racing during winter in the northern hemisphere. But, as MAURICE HAMILTON explains, there was a time when teams headed south of the equator rather than bunkering down in the factory. And why not? There was fun to be had, money to be made and reputations to forge…
What Porsche social media frenzy says about F1’s manufacturer allure
Porsche whipped up a frenzy thanks to a cryptic social media post last week, and though it turned out to be a false alarm, it also highlighted more just why manufacturers remain such an important element in terms of the attraction that they bring to F1. It is little wonder that several other manufacturers are bidding for a slice of the action.
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.