Photo: Oracle Red Bull Racing / Twitter
2022 was a wild year in Formula 1, more than abundant in changes, both in terms of drivers and team principals. One of the biggest upsets in the F1 status quo that we’ve seen is Daniel Ricciardo losing his seat at McLaren.
When that happened, the entire fanbase went wild. Speculations started flowing in, some linking Ricciardo to various teams, others claiming his career was over. Since then, we’ve seen the lovable Aussie sign a deal with his first love, Red Bull, becoming a third driver for the team.
This came as a bit of a surprise for anyone supporting Daniel Ricciardo, as people were certain he would manage to find a seat within a decent team. But the eight-time Gran Prix winner made things clear after the dust settled.
It turns out he wanted a break from Formula 1, which is understandable considering the last two years were a continuous struggle. Apart from taking a win at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, Ricciardo was comprehensively outpaced by then-teammate Lando Norris.
And that is just what he managed to get through his deal with Red Bull. For at least the next season, Ricciardo will be able to recover his mental energy while helping the team with promotional events and simulator work.
However, due to Red Bull being a global brand with an impressive racing portfolio, Ricciardo could go for some competition if he wanted to. But the Aussie claims he is not currently interested in competition due to the expectations and pressure that would inevitably arise.
According to him, "This year is a chance for me just to take a bit more of a light-hearted approach to things and ease off, so I think if I went into something that was going to put a lot of pressure on me, I'm not sure I would actually enjoy it."
With the winter break over, Ricciardo seems convinced this was the right choice, stating that "Being here at the launch does excite me and it is a cool feeling, but I'm also really happy to be kind of taking the year off. Currently, where I sit, it does really feel right."
But his position does not mean he gets to just lay back and watch the sunset, spending his hard-earned millions. A third driver role means that he has to be in shape for the off-chance that Red Bull needs him to jump in the car on a race weekend.
But as Ricciardo is a big fan of American entertainment, he explained there’s one more thing to do before his rigorous fitness sessions restart “I feel like the holiday is kind of winding down, I do feel I've had close to enough time off. I'm going to the Super Bowl next weekend and then I'll start to probably get back into a bit more of a regime and a bit more training.”
This came as a bit of a surprise for anyone supporting Daniel Ricciardo, as people were certain he would manage to find a seat within a decent team. But the eight-time Gran Prix winner made things clear after the dust settled.
It turns out he wanted a break from Formula 1, which is understandable considering the last two years were a continuous struggle. Apart from taking a win at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, Ricciardo was comprehensively outpaced by then-teammate Lando Norris.
And that is just what he managed to get through his deal with Red Bull. For at least the next season, Ricciardo will be able to recover his mental energy while helping the team with promotional events and simulator work.
However, due to Red Bull being a global brand with an impressive racing portfolio, Ricciardo could go for some competition if he wanted to. But the Aussie claims he is not currently interested in competition due to the expectations and pressure that would inevitably arise.
According to him, "This year is a chance for me just to take a bit more of a light-hearted approach to things and ease off, so I think if I went into something that was going to put a lot of pressure on me, I'm not sure I would actually enjoy it."
With the winter break over, Ricciardo seems convinced this was the right choice, stating that "Being here at the launch does excite me and it is a cool feeling, but I'm also really happy to be kind of taking the year off. Currently, where I sit, it does really feel right."
But his position does not mean he gets to just lay back and watch the sunset, spending his hard-earned millions. A third driver role means that he has to be in shape for the off-chance that Red Bull needs him to jump in the car on a race weekend.
But as Ricciardo is a big fan of American entertainment, he explained there’s one more thing to do before his rigorous fitness sessions restart “I feel like the holiday is kind of winding down, I do feel I've had close to enough time off. I'm going to the Super Bowl next weekend and then I'll start to probably get back into a bit more of a regime and a bit more training.”
Google News