Since a heartbreaking exit from F1 at last year’s Singapore GP, Daniel Ricciardo has been on a break away from the spotlight, and as things stand, there are no signs of him making a return to the pinnacle of motorsport.
Ricciardo has been rumored to take up a different discipline, perhaps IndyCar. However, the 34-year-old snubbed that idea last year itself.
“IndyCar still scares me,” Ricciardo said. It was an avenue he had explored when McLaren let him go in 2022, but he didn’t feel too positive about the thought of racing there.
David Coulthard seconded that opinion and recently asked Ricciardo to specifically avoid IndyCar. But why?
Daniel Ricciardo makes it very clear that he will not race in IndyCar next year #F1 #USGP #IndyCar #McLaren #Motorsport pic.twitter.com/HVonT98Gw5
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) October 23, 2022
The former Red Bull driver feels that Indy is a completely different world compared to F1, and while some have hopped across the pond to ply their trade, not many have succeeded. Coulthard, on top of that, also pointed out the dangers of competing in IndyCar.
“By the time I finished my Grand Prix career, there was a chance to go out to America,” the Scotsman told YouTuber Lucas Stewart. However, he chose not to because of how dangerous it seemed.
He also recalled former F1 and IndyCar champ Mario Andretti’s comments. “There’s those who’ve hit the wall and those who will hit the wall.” In other words, crashing is a matter of when, not if, in Indy.
Coulthard stated how a driver “cannot race Indy and race the ovals without hitting the wall at some point”. Particularly drivers like Ricciardo, who have raced in F1 and other Formula categories forever.
The 53-year-old feels that unless the Aussie driver is confident about learning the ways of mastering the oval tracks, he should look to stay away. From an off-track perspective, though, it is a shame that a figure like Ricciardo won’t be gracing the homegrown American venture, especially due to the marketing pull that he would bring.
What’s next for Ricciardo?
Ricciardo has a cool personality — something Coulthard acknowledged — and has been more successful than most of his counterparts, winning eight Grand Prix races in his career. However, the dip in form over the last few years has been drastic and it is not something any racing team on the planet would fancy taking a bet on.
To return to the limelight, Ricciardo has to pick a lane and focus on it completely. If it is IndyCar, he has to spend time learning about the series in America, so that he doesn’t face the difficulties he did in his last few seasons in F1.
There was also a notion that the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and SportsCar racing in IMSA were options for Ricciardo to rekindle his career and taste some success. However, Ricciardo hasn’t shown any inclination toward these categories as well.
Coulthard, like many others, has deemed Ricciardo fit for a broadcasting role in F1 or anywhere in the motorsport world, owing to his charm. The Honey Badger is a chirpy figure in his interviews and loves to balance his expert opinions with humor. Whether he takes up a gig in broadcasting remains to be seen.
