Why Ricciardo stopped chasing a Formula 1 seat

1 year ago 64

Daniel Ricciardo is successful precocious talks with Red Bull astir taking connected a non-racing relation adjacent season, with an oculus connected securing a spot backmost connected the grid for 2024.

On Friday, Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko announced Ricciardo would beryllium the team's 3rd operator successful 2023, earlier retracting the connection a abbreviated clip later.

In an evident lawsuit of letting the feline retired of the container excessively early, Marko said the Western Australian would instrumentality to Milton Keynes adjacent year, 4 years aft departing the squad.

Team main Christian Horner clarified connected Saturday that, portion Red Bull is interested, nary woody has been signed to bring backmost Ricciardo to the squad wherever helium won 7 of his 8 expansive prix victories.

"To person a operator of Daniel's illustration and past with the squad wrong the radical is lone an plus for us," helium said of the imaginable signing.

With precise fewer non-racing positions remaining for adjacent play arsenic full-time drives astatine Alpine, Haas and Williams passed, Ricciardo's determination to perpetrate to a reserve relation could spell the extremity of his F1 career.

However, the 33-year-old has revealed helium really fancies sitting retired a twelvemonth to wide his head.

"I knew that I wanted immoderate clip disconnected adjacent twelvemonth from a contention spot and conscionable from the competition," helium told motorsport.com.

"It's evidently been beauteous tiring the past mates of years with the struggles, truthful it was beauteous wide to maine soon aft the summertime interruption that that was what I wanted, and what was going to beryllium champion for me.

"So past it was, 'OK, what's the adjacent champion thing?', and the much I thought astir it, to evidently beryllium progressive to immoderate grade with a apical team, that was evidently the preference.

"But it's not done. So that's wherefore I haven't travel retired and confirmed it due to the fact that that's inactive the truth: it's not done. But I tin evidently look you successful the oculus present and accidental it's the astir apt enactment astatine this stage."

Asked what happens if helium gets to the mediate of adjacent twelvemonth and feels helium has nary tendency to instrumentality successful 2024, Ricciardo said: "Then that's my answer.

"Honestly, I deliberation that's besides successful a mode the quality of this. It'll either substance the occurrence and marque maine bare and much motivated than ever, oregon it volition really beryllium similar 'oh, this is the close happening for you', and successful that lawsuit past I indispensable beryllium truly happy.

"Because arsenic overmuch arsenic you spell done highs and lows of racing, I'm inactive precise blessed with life, and americium privileged to unrecorded a bully one. So if adjacent twelvemonth I'm not funny successful coming back, past I indispensable beryllium doing immoderate truly chill worldly [instead]."

Ricciardo besides admitted that with F1 approaching its longest, and astir demanding, fixture successful its history and himself coming disconnected the backmost of 2 hard campaigns with McLaren, determination is simply a hazard helium volition underperform for a caller squad - ending his vocation anyway.

"Last play was already rather difficult, but this play was much hard again," helium said.

"So past the much clip that passed, the much I felt like, arsenic overmuch arsenic I emotion it, I privation to marque definite that I'm doing it astatine my highest level and with, let's say, the freshest attack possible.

"Looking astatine adjacent year, it's 24 races. It's much and much demanding the season. So arsenic overmuch arsenic I emotion it, I deliberation if I jumped backmost into different situation, I mightiness conscionable not beryllium the champion mentation of myself.

"That's wherefore the much I thought astir it, the much I was like, to leap backmost successful and to let's accidental unreserved it, conscionable to beryllium racing, astir apt doesn't bash myself justness oregon whichever squad possibly I would contention for."

Ricciardo antecedently floated a one-year sabbatical successful 2023 if his options were limited.

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