Daniel Ricciardo Recalls the Time When He Got a Bit ‘C**ky’ and How Someone Close Helped Him

Formula 1 drivers are some of the most competitive people on the planet. So it’s understandable that sometimes success can get to their heads a little bit. Something similar happened to Daniel Ricciardo when he first started to win races. However, in a recent appearance on The Red Flags Podcast, the Aussie driver recalled how one of his friends helped him get his foot back on the ground.

Ricciardo started his F1 career back in 2011 with HRT and moved to Toro Rosso in 2012. However, it wasn’t until he got promoted to the main Red Bull team in 2014 that he flourished his talents.

In his very first season with Red Bull, the Aussie driver got into the top five thirteen times including three race wins, and that too when he was up against a four-time world champion teammate – Sebastian Vettel. That’s when he said the success started to affect him. Ricciardo said,

“Yeah, it was probably when I just started to make a bit of a name for myself in the sport and won a few races, and yeah… I was in my mid-20s and you’re like, ‘All right, I’m really kicking it right now, I’m the man’ and I remember I was like probably just getting a little weird um in terms of just getting ahead of myself and probably a bit c**ky.”

However, the Honey Badger recalls that one of his friends told him they had observed changes in his behavior and didn’t like what they saw. Ricciardo said that his friends wanted him to be aware of how he was acting, feeling that this new behavior wasn’t his true self.

The friend cautioned Ricciardo not to let this new attitude take over and warned him about potentially negatively affecting the people around him. And that helped him realize what he was doing. It seems like the 35-year-old needs his friends now more than ever as he fights to save his career.

Ricciardo feels frustrated amid his bid to prove his mettle again

The Aussie driver has recently addressed his primary concern as the 2024 season heads toward the summer break. Ricciardo has not been consistent enough in his stint at V-CARB similar to what he experienced at McLaren.

This has not helped his cause of wanting to return to Red Bull, with the uncertain future of Sergio Perez favoring his bid. However, Ricciardo’s lack of consistent points finishes for the Faenza outfit has made a weak case in front of Red Bull, who haven’t yet given him a contract extension for 2025.

In a candid interview with the Formula 1 website, Ricciardo revealed,

“[It’s] my biggest frustration. It’s a frustration because I look at myself in the mirror and say I can do this very, very well so how do I make sure I do it consistently? Because if I do, I’m laughing. But it’s more positive than negative.”

While he has struggled to match his V-CARB teammate Yuki Tsunoda in both qualifying and race head-to-heads, Ricciardo has shown flashes of his former brilliance. The Aussie just needs to find a way to show his brilliance more often, and not being able to do so is the main reason for his frustration.