All about Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 legacy
The sweetest smile and unique personality we see on and off the track will leave the F1 scene. Daniel Ricciardo has left VCARB, ending his 2024 season with the Singapore Grand Prix, where he earned the fastest lap and the Driver Of The Day award.
In an Instagram post, he shared his sentiments on leaving the sport. Ricciardo called it a ‘wild and wonderful’ journey, something that he would never change.
Many drivers commented on the post to reminisce about Ricciardo’s legendary F1 career. Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, along with George Russell and Pierre Gasly, also dedicated a post to the Australian driver.
Daniel Ricciardo’s impressive F1 run
Daniel Ricciardo debuted in F1 during the 2011 British Grand Prix. He drove for HRT as a loan driver from a deal with Scuderia Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s sister company. Ricciardo was merely a teenager full of pressure and excitement at the time. He finished at P19 in his debut race.
The following year, Toro Rosso offered Daniel Ricciardo to become an official F1 driver. For two seasons, he drove alongside Jean-Éric Vergne. Ricciardo had an amazing run with Toro Rosso, which led to a bigger seat offer in 2014 with Red Bull.
Ricciardo replaced the retiring F1 legend Mark Webber for the seat and drove alongside four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel. He snatched his maiden win with Red Bull at the Canadian Grand Prix, marking a milestone for the then 25-year-old. Ricciardo also won the same year’s races for Hungary and Belgium.
He got back up at the top podium in the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix, the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and the 2018 Chinese and iconic Monaco Grand Prix.
Ricciardo and Verstappen were Red Bull teammates from 2016 to 2018. They hit it off well and became good friends and competitors. It was obvious that Red Bull prioritized their future with Verstappen during the time. They announced a new extended contract with Verstappen in 2017, while Ricciardo’s contract expiration was set for the following year.
After the unfortunate crash in the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, it was obvious to Ricciardo that the team had favored Verstappen. People liked to believe it was the reason why Ricciardo decided to sign with Renault in 2019.
Renault was his home for two years. Despite an underwhelming debut with the team, he bagged two podiums during his second year. Ultimately, Ricciardo was someone that McLaren had their eyes on for the empty seat following Carlos Sainz’s move to Ferrari.
His move to McLaren in 2021 gave him another race win in the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. Avid watchers and fans hoped that it would be the return of Ricciardo’s glory. However, he left McLaren in 2022 and signed as a reserve driver for Red Bull once again in 2023.
Ricciardo replaced Nyck de Vries at Scuderia AlphaTauri from the Hungarian Grand Prix up to the rest of the 2023 season. Sadly, after the crash at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, Ricciardo injured his hand. He was replaced by Liam Lawson during his recovery period but returned for the United States Grand Prix. There, he finished at P7 to earn much-needed points.
RB (formerly AlphaTauri) retained him for the 2024 season alongside Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda. However, it hasn’t been the best season for Daniel Ricciardo. He has been out-qualified by teammate Yuki Tsunoda on multiple occasions, which led people to believe that this was the reason why VCARB released the Australian driver.
Following the end of the Singapore Grand Prix, VCARB announced that reserved driver Liam Lawson would be back in the F1 scene. He will be driving for VCARB for the remainder of the season, marking the end for the ‘Honey Badger’.
Daniel Ricciardo had great races throughout his F1 career. His spontaneous and unique driving style has won him eight races. However, his consistency has been noticeably shaky. Jos Verstappen referred to him as a ‘qualifying beast,’ but Ricciardo couldn’t seem to push his luck to race days and earn enough points to get a WDC.
The multiple team shifts may have contributed to his confidence and self-identity on track. He even mentioned at one point that he was unrecognizable after departing from McLaren who he had to adjust for quite a lot. However, coming back to Red Bull’s care didn’t seem to bring back his luck on track. Perhaps it was the media or the fans, but the glory of Ricciardo’s name does not equate to the numbers he obtained during his career.
This may be the end of his run in the competitive scene of motorsport, but it’s clear Daniel Ricciardo’s name has been one of the most prominent in the motorsport world.
