Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo has opened up on the aftereffects of his decision to leave pacesetters Red Bull to join Formula 1‘s midfield.
After finishing sixth in the driver standings in 2018, at the back of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen, Ricciardo joined the ensuing team, Renault.
The decision has since created one of F1’s greatest what-ifs with Verstappen going on to win last year’s drivers championship with Red Bull while Ricciardo finished eighth in his debut season for McLaren.
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Speaking with ESPN ahead of this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, Ricciardo said that with time he’s learnt to accept how the shift proved, and no longer wastes his energy wondering what might have been.
“I think through doing it for so many years now, and just a bit of wisdom, maturity, and perspective, I don’t beat myself up about it anymore,” he said.
“I know when I was 27 or 28 I would say in interviews, like, ‘I’m running out of time, I’m not world champion yet.’ I was a bit bitter about it then. But I’ve kind of let that element go.”
He added that it “is what it is”, and that he doesn’t want to carry any “anger or bitterness” over a supposition.
Ricciardo joined Red Bull as an academy driver and during his time with the team notched up an impressive 29 podiums, two pole positions and seven race wins.
But despite his obvious talent behind the wheel, it will never be known whether Red Bull would have provided Ricciardo with the resources to win a world title.
Four year’s after his departure from Red Bull, the team’s cars are now fast enough to consistently start at the front of the grid and stay there, but a large reason for Ricciardo’s decision to leave was a suspicion of favouritism towards Verstappen. That theory that has since been put on notice as the team has repeatedly changed driver pairings.
While there has been hardship during his years with Renault and now McLaren, there have also been reminders of Ricciardo’s promise within the sport.
In 2020, he guided Renault back to the podium with third-place finishes in Germany and Italy. That placed him a career-best fifth in the driver standings that year.
Last year, he also ended a near 10-year win drought at McLaren, when misfortune befell the frontrunners to take the chequered flag at Monza.
Despite being out of contract at the end of the 2023 season and often making jokes about retirement, the 32-year-old said he has no intention to quit the sport, but a change could come within the next five years.
“I couldn’t tell you now if it’s three years, five years, whatever, but I’m aware that I can’t see myself doing this at 40,” he said.
“I’m still passionate about the sport and I still want to do good in it, so that’s it. It’s as simple as that. You just pull back (the negatives). I’m still enjoying it. The results aren’t there yet. But a negative attitude isn’t going to help me get those results either.”
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