Daniel Joseph Ricciardo was born in Perth on July 1, 1989, to Italian-Australian parents. He made his way to the top of Formula One via Red Bull’s young driver program. He was transferred to their F1 squad in 2014 and won three races in his rookie year.
Ricciardo’s father grew up in Sicily but moved to Australia when he was eight years old. “I suppose Europe at the moment was a little challenging and a little dark,” Ricciardo said in 2017. “It was a tough call to move but I am certain that they assumed Australia was a land filled with opportunities.”
Nonetheless, Ricciardo went back to Europe to further his career in the motor racing world. In 2009, he won the British F3 title and advanced to Formula Renault 3.5 the next year. He completed 2 points behind Mikhail Aleshin when his car got flipped over at Silverstone late in the season.
Ricciardo participated in Red Bull’s post-season rookie test that same year and again in 2010. He stayed in Formula Renault 3.5 for 2011, although he had to balance it with greater F1 commitments. This includes taking part in Red Bull’s sister team Toro Rosso’s Friday morning practice sessions.
Career: Highs And Lows
Ricciardo made his Formula One debut in 2011 with struggling back-of-the-grid outfit HRT in the British Grand Prix. In their racing lineup, he replaced Narain Karthikeyan.
Ricciardo was eager to capitalize on the STR7’s point-scoring ability, finishing 10th in his home stadium in Melbourne in 2012. Yet it took 11 races for him to return to the points, as Toro Rosso found themselves at the back of a crowded midfield.
In their season two together, Ricciardo was often faster than Vergne, particularly in qualifying, when he held a considerable edge. Nevertheless, the car was only somewhat more powerful than its predecessor, as well as the duo seldom advanced beyond the lowest reaches of the points.
Ricciardo joined the reigning champions just like their grip on the title was slipping: the RB10 was definitely second best in 2014, trailing only Mercedes’ dominating W05. Despite this, when Mark Webber announced his departure from Formula One, Red Bull chose Ricciardo to take his position.
In 2016, while Red Bull was back in race-winning form, there were more opportunities. One occurred in Spain, when, after leading early on, a poor strategy decision knocked Ricciardo off of the podium.
Ferrari improved the approach in 2017, demoting Red Bull to 3rd place once more, hence Ricciardo’s 5th-place finish was realistically the best result attainable. With four races remaining, he was a solid 4th in the standings, but three technical faults in the final four rounds enabled Raikkonen to push him to fourth.
Although Verstappen had a rocky start to his second year at Red Bull, Ricciardo was on fire. He won two of the first six races, restoring his lost Monaco win two years prior, and he appeared to be a title candidate in 2018.
Ricciardo’s decision to switch to Red Bull did not pay off in 2019. The team that finished 4th in 2018 has dropped to fifth, below engine customers McLaren. Meanwhile, Red Bull, which switched to a Honda engine, won three races again that season.
The best of the slim selections for Ricciardo arrived at Monza when he guided teammate Nico Hulkenberg to fourth and fifth place, the team’s best finish of the season. Elsewhere, he was penalized in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix for an MGU-K violation, and both cars were taken out of the Japanese Grand Prix because their braking system did not comply with the rules.
The Covid-19 epidemic postponed the season’s opening race, forcing Ricciardo to wait to see if Renault’s new car was an upgrade. Yet he couldn’t wait to make a decision about his future. When Vettel’s retirement from Ferrari was revealed, Ricciardo acted fast, and despite the fact that there was no way for him to join the Scuderia, he accepted the opportunity to take over from Vettel’s successor Carlos Sainz Jr at McLaren in 2021.
Nevertheless, a change in F1’s technical regulations pushed McLaren down the order, increasing the gap between the team’s two drivers. Ricciardo completed only seven races in the points, with a consistent top-five finish in Singapore, and accounted for only 23% of McLaren’s total points.
His poor performance dropped McLaren to fourth in the constructors’ rankings race, prompting the team to try to pull Ricciardo out of their contract a year early. They were successful, and he was replaced in 2023 by Formula 2 winner Oscar Piastri. With his F1 career in jeopardy, Ricciardo took solace by rejoining Red Bull as one of their backup drivers.
What Happened to Him?
He lost his Formula One place with McLaren following a disappointing season and maybe a reserve driver next year. Daniel Ricciardo has gone through a lot in the previous two years. Ricciardo will depart McLaren after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 20. His three-year contract got canceled in August, with one season remaining.
“I consider myself a person with resilience, but I am not superhuman,” Of course, I feel sad, hurt, and disappointed. So, sure, it’s been challenging. I’ve gained greater strength as a result of it all, and I’m ready for what comes next. But I do not want this to occur once more during another season, because you’ll have to change something and get back Eventually,” Ricciardo said in an interview.
With Lewis and Alonso, we’ve all spent nearly a decade in Formula One, and we’ve all experienced highs and lows, allowing us to sympathize as well as feel empathy for someone.
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