Home F1 Podcast: Ricciardo on F1 career, Red Bull/Renault, Baku clash & more

Podcast: Ricciardo on F1 career, Red Bull/Renault, Baku clash & more

13/12/2019

The 39th episode of F1 Beyond The Grid podcast of 2019 has Daniel Ricciardo talk about his career, Red Bull Racing/Renault, Baku clash and more.

Ricciardo opened up on various topics of his career, decisions and more on the latest episode of the F1 Beyond The Grid podcast. Here’s all what he spoke about in points:

They started the podcast by talking about his first F1 test at Jerez – 10 years ago – where they discussed the excitement and fear. The latter which is gone now.
Ricciardo spoke about his dad’s career which wasn’t so successful, even though he was rather quick. The Australian credits his father for his F1 career. He feels that his dad’s efforts to steer him away from Perth was crucial because of the low likelihood of getting into the sport by staying in Australia.
Ricciardo also talked about his first experience of owning a kart, which he said was just because he liked going fast, and standing out among his peers, not because he was good as they joked about his fear of sharks along.
The topic went back to his father as Ricciardo said despite the notion, his dad wasn’t too strict. He recalled his early time where he didn’t try to overtake his rivals which infuriated his dad, which led him to believe he wouldn’t be allowed to race again.
They converse about when he came to the realization he could race in F1, which came into him when he raced against the ‘European kids’ who he perceived as ‘Gods’, and wasn’t far behind them. He also talked about how difficult it was to travel between Europe and Australia, and the sacrifices he made, losing his childhood in a sense.
The reason that he took up racing was because of his competition, and because of the adrenaline, which he enjoys, until something like a death happens around you, which makes you angry about it.
Moving on, they talked about his relation with the late Jules Binachi. Ricciardo admitted that his death actually made him go quicker, and take more risks.
The more common topic was touched upon with his season with Renault in 2019. He said it was better than 2018, because his errors now were within his control. He picked the Austrian GP as the kick he needed to move forward.
They discussed his much-talked Red Bull exit, which he says was because it was a dead end of sorts for him and admittedly him thinking that he was worth more than he was being paid. He recalled him breaking the news to Helmut Marko and Christian Horner, where the former saw it coming but the latter took it as a joke.
Despite the end, Ricciardo denies any bad blood between him and the team, as he and Red Bull’s staff have a great relationship still.
The duo then got into detail about the Azerbaijan GP crash in 2018 with Max Verstappen, which the Australian admits was infuriating for him for days after, especially with the team not siding with him. The happenings, he said, seriously contributed to his choice of leaving Red Bull.
They then joked about the similar-to Ferrari crash in Brazil GP this year, which he said he felt sorry for the team about.
Talking about himself, Ricciardo denied that fame and money changed him, beyond the normal change one would expect over the course of several years, and also mentioned how his friends are so vital to his career.
They also joked about him teaching his 3-year-old nephew how to say ‘cash-money bitches’.
Coming back to racing, Ricciardo mentioned his frustrations during this year’s Australian GP and how aggravating the media was after his terrible race.
They then discussed his love of any music, not just one genre as he recalled a story of going to Colorado for a concert.
It led to Ricciardo revealing as to why he loves America and especially LA, citing the fact that it felt like home. They talk about how many drivers live in LA, and sometimes they see each other, as he told a story of when he once saw Verstappen there.
It shifted the topic to discuss Ricciardo’s relationship with the Dutchman, which is good, as Ricciardo even said the two grew off each other. They then mentioned all the good teammates he’s had, as he also complimented Verstappen, saying he could be a champion, as Daniel said he himself has a chance of a championship win still.
They talked about what drives him still as he immediately noted the 2018 Monaco GP as a major high.
Looking at the future, Ricciardo opened up about Esteban Ocon joining.
They then discussed his love of the UFC as the topic led to Ricciardo talking about Hamilton.
They then had some banter about his pre-F1 jobs, which involved learning to be a team mechanic in a racing crew, and working in a cafe, and also in construction, before delving into some potential post-F1 jobs he’d like, with some involving music.
He then recalled some of his favorite off-track race experiences, including Cirque du Soleil as he talked about his diet, and said that even with the new rules, he can only be about 1 kilo heavier.
To finish, they talked about Ricciardo’s plan for winter, when he’ll be going to his farm in Perth, before discussing his goal for 2020, which he says is podium finishes.