Daniel Ricciardo is relieved that he didn’t get a call from any big F1 teams for a 2023 drive as his mind wasn’t to compete this year as much.
Once it was confirmed that Ricciardo won’t have his McLaren contract for 2023, the Australian inserted himself in the F1 driver market as a hot property of sorts. With limited seats on the horizon, it wasn’t clear where he would fit in to drive.
For a brief moment, Alpine and Aston Martin looked like options but those were quickly done with leaving Haas a potential opportunity. Ricciardo did have a chat with Guenther Steiner, but it seemed like neither were too keen to be together.
Ricciardo waited his time until it was certain that he won’t drive but can only be a reserve, It was actually a relief for the Australian who reckoned he didn’t wish to have a competitive drive due to burnout of sorts that he had in these last few years.
He eventually signed up as reserve of Red Bull after speculation also linked him to one at Mercedes. “There was a couple of times where Ferrari was linked,” recalled Ricciardo on F1 podcast. “But, I think coming back to a seat next year as Haas’ Guenther said, he reached out and stuff.
“The more… days that passed and, especially as I did the triple-header to get back into the second half of the season – so three days on the bounce – it became more and more clear that it wasn’t about what phone call I was receiving; it was about me acknowledging that I just ultimately don’t want to be competing next year.
“So, in a way I am glad that, let’s say, a top team didn’t reach out, because it’s one of those ones where you probably feel, ‘Oh, I’ve got to sign it’, but I think deep down I was just craving a bit of distance. You could call it some burnout, but I’m not afraid to admit that or say that, and it’s one of those ones where, you know, everyone will have an opinion and this and that, but it’s ultimately that I know what I feel, I know what I want.
“It was some of that. And I feel very… I don’t want to say that I’m the only driver that feels this way, but I would say that I’m not the normal sportsman where I kind of just use ‘practice makes perfect’. The more I do sometimes, the more I’m just like getting kind of lost in it, where I kind of feel like the power of a break for me, some time off, I could come back better. I know for me that could actually be really good,” summed up Ricciardo.
Here’s how the F1 2022 teams were categorised in ranking: https://formularapida.net/f1-2022-teams-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/
Here’s how the F1 2022 drivers were categorised in ranking: https://formularapida.net/f1-2022-drivers-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/
Here’s drivers’ list of Top 10 drivers
Here’s the team bosses list of Top 10 drivers
Here’s Andreas Seidl not blaming Daniel Ricciardo for P4
