Daniel Ricciardo is using his time off the track to ‘forget’ the disappointing two years he spent with McLaren
Daniel Ricciardo reveals how his time away from the tracks has helped him forget his disappointing experience at McLaren.
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Daniel Ricciardo came into Formula 1 over a decade ago and quickly rose to fame as a Red Bull driver besides Sebastian Vettel. Then, Vettel left the Milton-Keynes outfit for Ferrari and Ricciardo made a formidable partnership with Max Verstappen for the next couple of years. Later, Daniel Ricciardo left Red Bull for Renault, and then he ended up at McLaren. But this switch was not everything that he had expected he would be greeted with. Daniel Ricciardo’s two years at McLaren were marred with below par performances which ultimately led Zak Brown’s team to prematurely terminate their contract with Ricciardo and take up Oscar Piastri.
Thus, at the end of the last year, Daniel Ricciardo found himself without a seat at any of the competing teams in F1, and he had to return to Red Bull in a non-driving role in support of the two existing RB racers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. Now, Ricciardo can be seen spending his time at the Red Bull garage, away from the tracks, and he has assured his fans that he needed this time away from regular racing to unwind after the horrors of his last couple of years with McLaren.
In a recent interview, Daniel Ricciardo was asked to comment on how his life is going now that he does not have races to look forward to every other weekend. The Australian said he is enjoying his time away from the tracks by reconnecting with his friends and family members, and he said that, “I think just having that time off gave me a chance to, in a way, forget a little bit of the last two years. Just go in there with a fresh mind.“
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Daniel Ricciardo says he gained back his lost confidence after trying the Red Bull simulator
Daniel Ricciardo’s last two years at McLaren were disastrous except for some rare occasions where he scored points and earned his team a victory. Being one of the best racers on the grid, he was quite obviously upset with his performance, and he even lost his confidence to an extent.
Hence, getting back on the Red Bull simulator, without the pressure of an actual Grand Prix weighing down on him, gave the Perth native a new sense of confidence. So, he said, “The first day back at Red Bull in the simulator was the most fun I’ve ever had driving a simulator, which is crazy, especially because at this point in my career, that’s normally the boring work. It took me a few laps to get going and once I did it all felt familiar again.“
Daniel Ricciardo’s return to regular racing is not on the cars as of now, but fans believe the Red Bull executives are eyeing to transfer him to Sergio Perez’s seat for next year. While nothing has been officially finalized, it is an undoubted fact that although the fans are happy that Ricciardo is getting time off the tracks to enjoy driving again, they cannot wait to see the Honey Badger inside the cockpit of his Red Bull for a Grand Prix in the near future.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)