Nico Rosberg and Paul Di Resta Discuss Daniel Ricciardo's Career, He Could Leave Formula 1

He said he felt for Daniel because he got basically kicked out by McLaren and paid to leave. The former Mercedes driver points out that the honey badger is now driving for his chance to stay in F1, and with the season closing, the window to impress a team is getting smaller.

Life has been difficult for the McLaren driver lately. It always feels like a blow to your morale to have a day when you are 17th on the grid. Adding insult to injury, he was severely off the pace of his teammate, Lando Norris, who seems excited to have Oscar Piastri replace Daniel.

Of course, we might all be too quick to disregard Ricciardo, as he has shown multiple times what he is capable of. We should not forget that, only a few years ago, he was fighting tooth and nail with Max Verstappen, who is now regarded as one of the biggest talents to ever grace the sport.

Moreover, the honey badger took the Formula 1 world by storm when he first came into the Red Bull seat. It happened at a time when Sebastian Vettel was reigning 4 times World Champion. Daniel took that as a challenge and rose up to it, comprehensively outscoring Vettel in 2014 and ending up third in the driver standings. Having such an illustrious career makes it even harder to understand what is happening.

Paul di Resta states that he hopes it is just a dip in form. However, he is quick to point out that, if Ricciardo’s performance does not improve, his career is at risk. According to the driver turned pundit, the honey badger might have to take a year off before coming back to the top of motorsport. He further added that this approach might not be the best idea for the Australian driver right now. But with doors closing and teams signing their drivers, he might be running out of options, at least in the competitive teams.

The former Force India driver also points out that Daniel is too good to stay on the sideline but the performance at the moment is not up to par. None of the two former drivers can understand what is not working for Daniel.

The interview also touches on his career decision. His staying at Red Bull might have been his best option but being paired with such a talent as Max Verstappen could have been a double-edged sword for the Aussie. Nico thinks his career moves were not all that bad and the main problem Ricciardo is facing right now is his pace, especially compared to his teammate.

Rosberg then asked di Resta whether he would take Daniel on board if put in the position of team principal. The former Force India driver does not see Ricciardo as a good option right now, especially taking into account his last two races. In his opinion, Pierre Gasly is a very solid driver for other teams to pick up. With Helmut Marko stating that Red Bull would not be opposed to the Frenchman’s move to Alpine and Esteban Ocon not being very fond of Ricciardo, this sounds more than likely to happen.

The interview concluded by questioning the decisions throughout the honey badger’s career. The two point out that it is more than obvious Ricciardo is not the same person and driver that he was three years ago. With all that being said, Daniel earned his nickname for a reason and we know he is a fighter. This means there are good chances he will bounce back and we will get to enjoy his lovely personality for a few more seasons.