Daniel Ricciardo Admits He Was “Grateful” Red Bull Ended His F1 Career
· Yahoo Sports
Most drivers spend years after retirement insisting they left on their own terms. Daniel Ricciardo is doing something far more interesting: admitting he didn’t, and that he’s thankful for it.
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Speaking on Ford CEO Jim Farley‘s Drive podcast, the eight-time Grand Prix winner opened up about the final chapter of a 14-season, 257-start career that closed quietly after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, when Racing Bulls replaced him with Liam Lawson for the remainder of the season.
“I broke my hand and it was such a nothing accident. I’d never really hurt myself racing all these years… I was like, okay, is this now a bit of a sign?”
The hand injury happened at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, which broke the momentum of a comeback that had only just begun.
Ricciardo had been fighting to prove he still belonged, and a low-speed practice shunt was the universe’s way of complicating that. He chose to ignore it.
“I was like, no, there’s still unfinished business… I pushed through it and lasted another year in F1, ultimately got let go… I’d been let go twice in the last two years.”
When the Decision Gets Made for You
Those final two years weren’t kind. He retained the Racing Bulls seat into 2024 but managed only three top-ten finishes across 18 races, while teammate Yuki Tsunoda recorded seven.
A shot at the senior Red Bull seat, notionally available given Sergio Perez‘s poor run of form, never materialised. The paddock moved on without him.
“In reflection, I was grateful that they made the decision for me.”
It’s a striking thing to say. But Ricciardo backs it up with a level of self-awareness that explains exactly why he felt that way. He knew the edge had gone. He just couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.
“I knew I was probably done… Alonso, these guys are still in their 40s in F1 competing very highly, for whatever reason I lost a little bit of something, and it’s okay to admit it.”
He retired from motorsport entirely in September 2025, aged 36, several months after his final F1 start.
He now serves as a Ford ambassador, Ford being in its first year of a powertrain partnership with Red Bull, which makes Farley’s podcast a natural fit. The circle is tidy, if a little bittersweet.
There’s a version of this story where Ricciardo clings on through 2025, chasing a seat he’d never get in a car that wouldn’t suit him, grinding down whatever goodwill remained. Instead, Red Bull made the call. He called it a relief. That’s probably the most honest thing an F1 driver has said about their own exit in years.