Daniel Ricciardo recalls ‘controversial’ Red Bull exit in F1 career ‘regret’ claim

Although Daniel Ricciardo doesn’t regret leaving Red Bull at the end of 2018, he accepts his career would have been different had he stayed; but, he stopped short of saying he’d be an F1 World Champion.

Ricciardo surprised many, including his Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, when he left the team at the end of the 2018 season despite being on the verge of signing a new deal.

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Instead, he joined Red Bull’s former engine partner Renault for a works deal, but it was a move that lasted just two years before he was off to McLaren having not won a Grand Prix with Renault.

He did manage one with McLaren but it was a brief moment of celebration in an otherwise troubled stint, so much so that McLaren and Ricciardo parted ways two years into his three-year deal with the Aussie then returning to the Red Bull fold.

Winning one race in six years, and spending time on the sidelines, Ricciardo’s career path has been very different to that of his former Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen who has claimed 56 wins and three World titles since their 2018 split.

Ricciardo insists he has no regrets.

“I don’t look back with regret, but I’m also aware that the decision I made in 2018… it felt like it was the right thing to do,” he told DAZN. “From that point of view, I don’t regret it.

“But was it the best decision I made? Would my career look different? Yes. But it doesn’t guarantee I would have won a World Championship or something.

“But of course that decision was definitely the most controversial one I ever made.”

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Daniel Ricciardo reveals fear over F1 exit

The Honey Badger also weighed in on his time away from the grid after being dropped by McLaren.

What had started out as a sabbatical soon became a reserve driver role for Red Bull and their junior team, a role that meant when the team opted to drop Nyck de Vries, it was Ricciardo who stepped up mid-2023.

Speaking about his time out, he said: “At the end of 2022, that was when I knew I wouldn’t be doing the 2023 season. I definitely was unsure with life, career, where it was going to go…

“Certainly some sadness because maybe that was the last time I was ever going to race in F1. Deep down I was still sad if it ended like this… I don’t know if I was ready for that.

“I was mixed and I also knew I needed some time just to understand what I wanted and where my heart was at. I wouldn’t say I was going through a depression or something but I was certainly going through some things and I needed to figure it out.

“It’s a bit scary because it’s all I’ve known for my whole life, but sometimes these things then open your eyes to other things and it was a good time.

“I look back on it now and I’m glad it all happened.”

Today, Ricciardo is again facing the prospect of his Formula 1 career ending as he has yet to secure a VCARB drive for next season with speculation Liam Lawson will replace him as Yuki Tsunoda’s 2025 team-mate.

He intends going down fighting if that’s what happens, telling the media including PlanetF1.com at Monza: “I will keep kind of making it about me in the sense that if I’m performing, they won’t find a reason to do anything.

“And ultimately, that’s where I’ll leave it. I know if I perform, then I’m good. So if I focus on myself, then it shouldn’t affect me. And that’s what I’m focusing on.”

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