Known for his infectious smile, mischievous manner and infamous shoeys, Daniel Ricciardo’s career in F1 has been admirable and has taken many routes and unexpected turns. With Ricciardo’s shocking mid-season exit from RB after the Singapore Grand Prix, it is unknown whether the Aussie will drive again in the top league of motorsport. However, it is comforting to know that he has had a long career with many incredible highlights.
Ricciardo’s start in racing
Ricciardo, born and raised in Perth, Australia, took an interest in motorsport from a very young age- much like many F1 drivers. He began karting at age 9 at his local karting tracks; a decision that would change his life forever. His natural talent and speed was proven as he participated in a variety of karting championships early in his career. It was this, that later attracted RedBull Racing, which catalysed his start in F1.
HRT
It was RedBull that gave Ricciardo his first glimpse of the life of an F1 driver, as he signed to their sister team, Toro Rosso, as their test driver in 2011. It was through this that he was able to gain experience in Formula One and attract the eyes of Christian Horner and many other Team Principals. This includes those at HRT.The Spanish team decided to swap their driver, Karthikeyan, for Ricciardo. Shortly after, he would make his debut in Formula One at the British Grand Prix. However, Karthikeyan was able to return to HRT for his home race in India, racing alongside his replacement. The Aussie made his F1 debut with HRT, while still contracted to Toro Rosso. This decision was a part of a deal with RedBull Racing, who funded this opportunity to allow Ricciardo more experience in F1. He continued racing for HRT for the remainder of the season, where he finished 27th in the standings.
Toro Rosso
By gaining this experience, he was resultantly signed to a full-time drive for Toro Rosso for the 2012 season, teaming alongside Jean Eric-Vergne. His first full season in Formula 1 looked promising for the young driver, scoring points in the inaugural race of the season in Melbourne, which also served as his home race. However, these points would not be consistent for a large portion of the season. It was only during the second half of the season that Ricciardo was able to score points more consistently, accumulating 10 points throughout the year, finishing 18th in the drivers championship.
It’s here that the Aussie driver remained for the 2013 season. He frequently was ahead of his teammate, Vergne, and finished one place ahead of him in the driver’s standings by the end of the year. He was able to achieve his highest finishing position of 7th, two times throughout this season and frequently reached Q3 in qualifying. These consistent results and improvements throughout the year undoubtedly put him on the map for future drives. This would follow through as RedBull driver, Mark Webber, announced his retirement from F1. Not long after, Ricciardo was signed and promoted to RedBull Racing for the 2014 season.
RedBull Racing
The ‘prime’ of his career came while he raced for RedBull. Making the move from Toro Rosso to a top-fighting team in 2014, Ricciardo partnered alongside the current reigning 4x World Champion, Sebastian Vettel. Joining the team that had just won the driver’s championship, and came 2nd in the constructors, the expectations on Ricciardo were high. He didn’t disappoint. In his first race for the team, he secured his first podium in 2nd place, becoming the first Australian to place on the podium at their home race. Unfortunately, after the race the FIA disqualified Ricciardo due to his incomplience with the limited fuel load rule. Yet, the rest of the season only went upwards from Australia. Routinely, the driver finished on the podium and scored his maiden win at the Canadian Grand Prix. They say that the first win is the hardest obstacle and after that it only gets easier from there, this was the case for the upcoming star. Throughout the 2014 season, he accumulated P1 on three occasions; his back-to-back wins in Hungary and Belgium demonstrated his talent and racing skill, as he took advantage of the struggling Mercedes of Hamilton and Rosberg. Finishing 3rd in the driver’s championship and finishing ahead of his teammate, Ricciardo’s initial season with Redbull Racing was one to remember.
However, things took a turn in the 2015 season. Many changes occurred in the Austrian team, including Sebastian Vettel’s departure to Ferrari. His new teammate, Russian driver Danil Kyvat, accompanied Ricciardo in the struggles that the team faced throughout the season. It was clear that the successes from the previous season would not follow through into the 2015 season. Despite this, he was still able to place his RedBull into the top 5 on several occasions and onto the podium twice, but remained winless throughout this season.
2016 served as another great season for Ricciardo, although it did come with its own ups and downs. Despite the strong Mercedes domination, Redbull and Ricciardo were able to keep up with the German team and not be far off, even being able to steal two wins from them. The dynamic of Redbull once again changed mid-season, with the decision to drop Kyvat and replace him with the young and upcoming Dutch driver, Max Verstappen. Ricciardo and Verstappen bonded greatly together and led to a friendship that would continue to this day. Not long after though, heartbreak occurred for the Aussie in Monaco. He was looking to win the infamous race, but as he pulled into the pitlane, his mechanics weren’t ready with the tyres, costing him the race. Verstappen’s win the race previously, in his first race for Redbull, only added salt to the wound for Ricciardo. Thankfully, he was able to swing the season around at the end of the year, winning in Sepang and finishing 3rd once again in the driver’s championship.
Continuing his drive for Redbull, it became ever more clearer that the Ricciardo-Verstappen lineup was strong in 2018. However, it seemed that Ferrari’s lineup with Vettel and Raikkonen was also incredibly strong, in addition to their car. In spite of this, the Australian won in the streets of Baku in Azerbaijan. It was here that he performed a spectacular 3-car overtake using is infamous late breaking technique; this move later received the ‘Overtake of the Season’ award, voted by the fans. Nevertheless, the increasing popularity and talent of Verstappen began to reveal itself, when he won 2 of the last 6 races of the season. It became evident that the young Dutch driver was a star waiting to shine. Ferrari managed to secure 2nd place in the constructors world championship, and both of their drivers finished ahead of the RedBull drivers.
In 2018, tensions between RedBull and Ricciardo grew and caused divisions in the team. Verstappen was evidently becoming a much stronger driver and was beginning to establish himself as a top contender against the dominant Mercedes. The Dutch driver and the Australian driver had a good season in 2018, both winning twice throughout the 21 races. However, collision between the pair in Baku cemented the divisions within the team. By most fans, it is accepted that the teammate collision was mostly caused by Verstappen. In light of this, it was clear distinct that Verstappen was favoured by the team, due to his potential and skill.
Ricciardo knew that with this being the case, and the uncertainty of the team’s direction with their PU system, he would have to settle for a number 2 position. He was not willing to slot into this role and wanted to be in a fight for championships. Therefore, he made the decision to leave the team at the end of the season. He would join Renault in 2019.
Renault
Partnering alongside the German driver, Nico Hulkenberg, Ricciardo left everything he knew with the Redbull family and took a risk in Renault that many questioned. Going from a championship winning team, to a team that currently did not look strong, seemed like a detrimental decision to his career. His ambitions of winning races and championships were not met by Renault, causing his goal to slowly slip away. Nonetheless, Ricciardo’s desire to be in a fighting position with his teammate and be a priority in the teams orders, were in fact met by Renault. Resultantly, it could be argued that the French team were able to supply Ricciardo with the demands that he asked for. The teammates finished 5th and 6th in Monza, which was their highest position of the 2019 season. Undoubtedly, this was a step down from his podium-fighting position at RedBull, but he was finally getting the attention from the team that he craved. Perhaps this change was better than it may originally have seen to be. On the other hand, misfortune struck at the Japanese Grand Prix. After the race, a complaint was lodged to the FIA by Racing Point. This was in regards to an alleged breaching of the technical rules. The controversy led to a tribunal that took place on the 23rd of October, 2019, and ultimately resulted in the favour of Racing Point. Consequently, the Renault cars were disqualified from the Japanese Grand Prix and all points they earned in this session were deducted.
2020 was highly disrupted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down the world. Fortunately, with many restrictions, 17 races were able to take place. For Ricciardo, this chaotic year ended in an optimistic manner, finishing 5th in the driver’s championship; this was the highest he had finished since the 2017 season. Once again though, he was unable to reach the top step of the podium. After the 2020 season eventually concluded, Ricciardo announced his departure from Renault, after only being there for 2 seasons. He was set to join McLaren to replace Carlos Sianz.
McLaren
Joining the papaya team was a move that many fans were thrilled for. McLaren were competitive on many occasions, offering Ricciardo more oppertunities to take another win. Moreover, his new teammate, Lando Norris, and himself were known as two of the funniest and most entertaining drivers on the grid. From their chaotic interviews, funny radio messages and silly behaviour around The Paddock, this was a lineup many fans were excited to see unfold. They didn’t disappoint. The two together were a dynamic duo off track. In 2021, the two scored McLaren’s first win since Lewis Hamilton in 2012. At the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, Ricciardo lined up in 2nd, behind Verstappen. Straight off the line, the Australian was able to block his former teammate from passing him and took 1st place. He maintained this throughout the race and once again stood on the top step of the podium, with his new teammate right beside him in 2nd. Momentarily, it appeared that Ricciardo was back on the rise, finally making his way out of the slump that he had been in for the previous years. His famous radio message after his first win since his RedBull days ‘I never left’ proved that the Honey Badger had never given up or settled for anything less.
Throughout the year, Ricciardo expressed the difficulties he was facing adapting to the car and the struggles he was battling when racing. Unfortunately, by the end of the 2021 season, the new McLaren driver had only scored 115 points, compared to his teammates 160 points. Worries of becoming a second driver at the papaya team were looming over Ricciardo; just as they had done during his time at McLaren.
In the 2022 season, the Australian remained in orange with McLaren. Once again, the season was rough as he scored points in only 6 of the races. Rumours spread around about his future in the sport, specifically at McLaren. He was contracted with the team for 3 seasons, starting in 2021. This was questioned and put into doubt due to his performance and infrequent scoring of points. During the summer break, Alpine F1 Team announced the signing of Australian driver Oscar Piastri, who would be replacing Fernando Alonso. Plummeting the media into chaos and into the spotlight, Piastri denied these claims through a statement, claiming he had not signed a contract for Alpine. It was later revealed that Piastri was set to join the McLaren team, replacing Daniel Ricciardo for the 2023 season, leaving the other Aussie without a seat in F1.
AlphaTauri/RB
Without a seat in 2023, Ricciardo’s return to the sport was questioned. Thankfully for him, he was able to return to the comfort of his former RedBull family as their test and reserve driver. Here, he would conduct tests and be ready to jump into action should they need it. This opportunity arose at the decision by AlphaTauri (formally Toro Rosso) to drop Nyck De Vries after only 10 races in the sport. Many found this unfair, due to the lack of time and experience De Vries had to prove himself. Others saw Ricciardo’s return as deserved. However, the excitement and buzz of his return was short lived. After only 3 races back in the sport, at the Dutch Grand Prix, Ricciardo sustained a broken wrist during an incident involving himself and Piastri- his replacement at McLaren. During his absence, Liam Lawson stepped in and shocked the world with his talent; he was able to out-qualify both RedBull drivers and scored 2 points.
Lawson’s time in the spotlight during 2023 was not forgotten. A struggling Ricciardo in the 2024 caused, yet again, doubt over his career and time at RB (AlphaTauri’s rebrand). A constant missing-out of Q2 and the points led to those in charge of the team looking back at Lawson’s incredible 5 races the season previous. At the Singapore Grand Prix in 2024, there was uncertainty and rumours that doubted whether or not he would be returning for the next race at COTA. It seemed as though even Ricciardo himself, had accepted the possibility that he would not return, appearing emotional and reminiscent throughout the weekend. Not long after the race weekend had concluded, Lawson was announced to be replacing the Australian for the remainder of the season.
The Next Step..
The future of Daniel Ricciardo in F1 is still unknown. Rumours will forever circulate and the future is still not decided. As we have seen previously, F1 can change at a moments notice. Is this the end of Ricciardo’s chapter in the top flight of motorsport? We’ll have to wait and see.
Formula Focus 
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