F1 star Daniel Ricciardo on leaving bitterness and ‘what could happen’ in the rearview mirror

Daniel Ricciardo started the last lap of last year’s Grand Prix Abu Dhabi title race right after Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. What followed was one of the most dramatic moments in Formula One history, but Ricciardo, long considered one of F1’s most talented drivers, was not part of it. Later he was a descendant, a spectator explain how he has mixed feelings See what goes on in the final round.

It would be difficult to imagine Ricciardo not being the third in that championship scenario just a few years ago. His departure from Red Bull in 2019 is one of the great ‘what happens’ of modern F1. That move was a big part of the first season of F1’s hugely successful Netflix series “Drive to Survive,” and Ricciardo is one of that show’s brave superstars.

But it’s hard to escape the feeling it could all have been very different for him had he stayed as Verstappen’s teammate but Ricciardo says not staying in the past.

“It’s just opinion, and that changes everything,” Ricciardo told ESPN ahead of Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix “.” I think I’ve done that for years now, and with just a little bit of wisdom, maturity and perspective, I don’t beat myself up about it anymore.

“I know when I’m 27 or 28, I’ll say in interviews, like, I’m running out of time, I haven’t won the world championship yet. I was a bit bitter about it then. But I did. let that element go.

“About just carrying that, I don’t. I never want to carry an anger or bitterness, like ‘oh my, I should have, could have, would have.’ It was like You’re just wasting your time and energy sulking about that stuff.”

Ricciardo often delivers performances that remind F1 of how good he is. His fairytale win for McLaren at last year’s Italian Grand Prix has all the hallmarks of Ricciardo’s Red Bull days, as he seems to find another level right after a bit of a win. appear. This is his first win since the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix.

It’s hard to escape the feeling that his championship moment has passed. Ricciardo has been in F1 for more than 10 years, he made his debut at the 2011 British Grand Prix.

He made a curious comment in F1’s promotional video for the new Las Vegas Grand Prix, joking in a trying American accent: “I’ll retire, but I won’t!”

When asked about it, he insisted this was not a scenario he had realistically considered.

“Black and white, it’s a joke. It’s like my humor,” Ricciardo told ESPN.

He then pointed to Blake Friend, his sales manager, sitting across from the McLaren house during the interview.

“Blake sitting over there, I fire him once a week.” Hey man, you got fired “…” Yeah, I’m retiring so you won’t have a job next year. “So I want to go to the bathroom.”

But Ricciardo appreciates the fact that he is much closer to the end of his F1 career than he began, at the 2011 British Grand Prix and then full-time from 2012 onwards.

“I think going deeper into it, no, I’m not looking into it or anything.

“But I also know that I’ve done 10, 11 years already. Am I going to do another 10? Unless I start winning every race and that makes sense, I don’t have 10 left in me.

“So I’m definitely on the second part of it. I can’t tell you now it’s three years, five years, whatever, but I know I can’t see myself doing this at my age. 40.

“I’m still passionate about this sport and I still want to do well in it, so that’s it. It’s as simple as that. You just pull out. [the negatives]. I am still enjoying it. Results are not available yet. But a negative attitude didn’t get me those results either. “

Despite not having the best of the competition, Riccio’s star has reached far beyond F1. The Australian was one of the first to realize the power of the Netflix series ‘Drive to Survive’ and was one of the focal points of the first season – Mercedes and Ferrari weren’t even involved in the first place.

Before this week’s race, he appeared on the Trevor Noah Daily Show and earlier this year was one of four drivers featured in a photo session of Vanity Fair, previously uncharted territory for Formula One.

For Ricciardo, the opportunities from F1 give him a satisfied mindset with whatever the rest of his career might look like.

“It’s probably the only time I’ll ever wear something like that! But it’s great,” Ricciardo said of the Vanity Fair shoot.

“Finally you can get [shoots and marketing events] take them too seriously and they can become a bit of a chore, but it’s fun. I like those things.

“Like, I don’t wake up every morning and put on makeup! So it was fun to go through the process of sitting there and being interviewed.”

“I just laughed. Who would have thought racing would put me in this seat? It’s an exciting opportunity that racing has created. I know I wouldn’t be doing this if I was doing a job. normal. So I’m grateful I did.”

During the pandemic, Ricciardo has found the time to produce his own wine in collaboration with St Hugo, called ‘DR3’. It has become a passionate project and the company has just released the second installment of the wine.

It gave him the opportunity to market another Ricciardo hallmark – the celebration of shoes. Ricciardo had a habit of pouring champagne into his racing boot when he was on the podium and drinking it all.

For a range of new wines this year, the company also released a limited edition decanter made from the mold of one of his racing shoes.

It sold out instantly, but despite the celebrations associated with him a lot, Ricciardo who was the last to join the company thought it was a good idea.

“Someone on this call came up with it and I’m not so sure. Usually the decanters look pretty elegant, not men’s shoes so I’m not sure.

“Part of me is… I don’t want to ruin the shoe! But once I saw it in real life, I was like sold!

“You just don’t know if people say I don’t want a big pair of boots on my desk next to a bottle of wine. It’s a big boot.

“But everyone loves it. It’s funny.”

Will F1 fans have a chance to see Ricciardo step onto the podium once again, but it will be a loss for the sport if the Australian driver never gets the equipment to challenge consistently. to win the race.