Daniel Ricciardo Admits F1 Exit Was 'Humiliation' and 'Pain'

Daniel Ricciardo has confessed what many drivers keep silent about: his 2024 departure from Formula 1 was not only a sporting blow but an emotional earthquake that plunged him into a spiral of humiliation and pain. Over time, the Australian has reached an unexpected conclusion: Racing Bulls' decision to replace him with Liam Lawson was, in reality, a favor and a liberation disguised as a dismissal.

"My view of all that was that I was failing, that I wasn't performing at the level I needed, or that I couldn't finish the season; it was then a feeling of humiliation, as if I had failed and wasn't capable of doing what I could before. When trying to deal with those following months, I understood that I was simply hiding from the humiliation; people saw me in public, having fun and having a drink, but in reality I was hiding from what I felt very deep inside, which was a lot of pain and sadness," Ricciardo recounted on the Beyond The Grid podcast.

The Australian who achieved eight victories and 24 podiums between 2011 and 2024, acknowledged that his retirement was not only a consequence of his performance but of an accumulation of years in which, on more than one occasion he wanted to leave everything: "I can tell you right now that in Monaco 2022, after the race, I was sitting in my apartment talking with my team and I said: 'I don't want to do this anymore, my job here is done' and I have had these conversations more than once over the years. Silverstone 2015 was another time; of course, you have lows, but there are moments in which I have wanted to simply walk away from everything," he confessed.

The most revealing part of his testimony is the admission that without Racing Bulls' intervention, he would probably still be competing: "The reality is, would I have done it? I also think you have people around you who tell you a great story, that you can still do it, and you end up believing many of those voices. I know they don't want to do harm, but you don't really get a chance to have your own thoughts. I think that probably would have continued, and maybe I would still be racing, and that is also a scary thought; I still don't like how it ended, but there is also a part of me that is grateful that they pulled the trigger because I wouldn't want to be doing this now," he said.

Today, far from Formula 1, Ricciardo has found a peace he did not know; he acknowledged that he still does not know if he will compete again in another category, but that he has reached a point in which he can look back with pride and, above all, with relief: "I am definitely proud. Sometimes you never want to reflect too much, especially when you are racing because you almost scare yourself, but now that I am in a good and balanced place, I am extremely proud, surprised in many ways that everything happened," he concluded.

His story is a reminder that, in the elite of sport, success and happiness do not always go hand in hand, and that sometimes the most painful exit is also the most necessary.