Daniel Ricciardo Reveals Serious Physical Problems From Depression During McLaren Stint

Daniel Ricciardo, who lost his place at McLaren at the end of the 2022 season developed serious problems during his nightmarish stint with the team. His mental stress and depression due to what was happening on the track made him lose his appetite, which took a toll on his physical health. The honey badger opened up about the same during an interview with RaceFans in Monaco.

Ricciardo joined McLaren in 2021 after two underwhelming years with Renault. The French team only gave him a car that was fighting in the midfield, but Ricciardo was chasing wins and podiums. In 2021, McLaren seemed like a team in the ascendency and a partnership with Lando Norris seemed appealing to many.

Unfortunately, Ricciardo’s spell turned out to be a complete nightmare. Norris comprehensively outperformed him, and his only real highlight was his 2021 Italian GP win in Monza. 2022 turned out to be even worse for the honey badger, and it ultimately resulted in his being removed. However, during his last few months, the Aussies suffered from serious mental and physical problems.

Daniel Ricciardo started developing an eating disorder

For an F1 driver, staying fit and healthy is absolutely essential to performing well on track. Towards the end of his stint with McLaren, however, he struggled to stay healthy. A lot of this was because of his depression because of things not going his way on the track.

During the Monaco GP, Ricciardo spoke to RaceFans about his problems at McLaren. While he didn’t label himself as being clinically depressed, a lot of symptoms were pointing toward it. In fact, he admitted to not eating enough, which changed the way he looked.

“I don’t want to like go too far and be like, ‘yeah, I was depressed’ or whatever but I certainly wasn’t always eating as much,” the 33-year-old said. “I didn’t have an appetite as much and I was just a bit scattered. So yeah, there was certainly some of that. So I was a little thin.”

Ricciardo’s happy homecoming in 2023

After not finding a suitable seat for himself after his McLaren sacking, Ricciardo decided to spend some time away from the limelight. He is not completely disconnected from the world of F1, as he is the third driver for Red Bull.

At Red Bull, the Perth-born driver seems happier than he has been in a long time. This is because he is in a familiar environment, around people who helped him win seven races between 2014 and 2018. For now, he is happy with the time off, and is fulfilling his duties as a reserve driver with a wide smile on his face.

Later this year, during the British GP weekend, Ricciardo will be a part of Red Bull’s Pirelli tyre test. He will get behind the wheel of the RB19 at Silverstone.