Breaking Up With McLaren Was A Blessing Says Daniel Riccardo

By James Broughton, October 2, 2023

At the age of 34, Daniel Ricciardo finds himself on the cusp of the latter stages of his Formula One career. While 34 may seem relatively young in the grand scheme of life, in the realm of professional sports, it’s often regarded as mature. Nevertheless, thanks to the strides made in sports science and the emphasis on physical well-being, as long as Ricciardo remains in good health and maintains his fitness, racing well into his early 40s should present minimal challenges.

It’s not the speed that wanes with age for F1 drivers, but rather the motivation, and sustaining that drive necessitates cultivating the right mindset. Nurturing a robust mental state demands as much dedication as physical fitness. When motivation starts to wane within the mind, it can lead to a decline in speed and an increase in errors on the track.

Ricciardo’s stint at McLaren proved to be a challenging chapter in his career. He faced the formidable competition of his teammate Lando Norris and struggled to match his pace. He did manage to break McLaren’s drought of wins, a streak that had persisted since 2012. However, Ricciardo grappled with acclimating to the McLaren machinery, leading to an early termination of his contract.

Oscar Piastri stepped into Ricciardo’s shoes and swiftly established himself as a promising contender for future world championships in his very first rookie Formula One season. On the flip side, Ricciardo found himself without a racing seat after his abrupt departure from McLaren, leaving him facing the prospect of a year on the sidelines.

Nevertheless, he found himself back in the Red Bull fold as a reserve driver, and soon after, an opportunity arose at AlphaTauri following the sacking of Nick de Vries. Unfortunately, his 2023 season was cut short abruptly after just two races when he suffered a broken hand after crashing into the wall during practice at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo is currently in the process of recovering from his hand injury and is anticipated to be back behind the wheel for the upcoming Qatar Grand Prix. During a recent media interview, he candidly expressed that although his departure from McLaren may not have been ideal for his reputation, it ultimately turned out to be a positive turn of events.

“It’s never the way you want to end something. Obviously, the results weren’t there. At the time, it was a bit of a harsh reality getting fired, but by the end of the season, when I got home for Christmas, I was like, ‘okay, it probably doesn’t help my reputation’, but at that point, I didn’t care anymore. It was a blessing in disguise.”

“I needed to step away for a bit, to re-find myself, re-find my love for the sport. If it could have been done in a better way, fine, but at the same time, I don’t think me finishing out the contract this year would have done me any favours.”

“It’s not making excuses because those performances weren’t good, but it was clear to me that it wasn’t me operating at 100%. Yes, I should have been able to figure it out. I couldn’t, but it was a kind of closure for me that I had got a bit lost but I could rediscover things and get back to being me.”

“I guess, in a way, I thank them for making that decision because we were in a bit of a hole, and I’m not sure we could have got out of it.”

“I had thoughts that maybe I just couldn’t do it anymore. Period! A lot of stuff got lost along the way, and when I got back into the Red Bull sim, I realised I was not a very confident person. In a way that was a relief for me, to see that I wasn’t operating at the level I thought. It kind of justified some of my performances.”