Daniel Ricciardo talked about the challenging 2023 season from his perspective after completing seven out of 22 races of the season.
The Honey Badger started the 2023 season without a seat in a Formula One car. Being a third driver in Red Bull, his job was to drive on the simulator to help with the car's setup and development.
Daniel Ricciardo got his chance to shine during a Pirelli tire test at Silverstone, only a few days after the 10th race of the season - the British Grand Prix.
The Aussie driver showed what he's got right on the first timed lap, which, as he described it, was "on the money." He impressed the management so much he got his seat in AlphaTauri instantly.
However, not too long after his return to Formula One, the 34-year-old suffered an injury that put him on the sidelines yet again for the next five races.
Ricciardo then returned to the grid for the second time, five races before the end of the season. Looking back at his rollercoaster of a season, Ricciardo told the media:
"It's been the strangest of season's for sure, but I think in a year where I didn't think I would race, a lot has happened."
Red Bull Racing team principal revealed Ricciardo "was pretty much done with Formula 1, and he wasn't enjoying it" when he came to Red Bull.
The Australian driver explained he needed to find out whether he still wanted to keep competing at the highest level of Motorsport. He said:
"Even though I've raced, I still haven't raced much. It was just important for me this year to get my answer, to really find out if they truly wanted to keep doing this and just also to get that confidence in myself again."
The Honey Badger remembered his unfortunate injury from the Free Practice session ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix. Even though some might have seen it as a sign for him to end his career, he shared a different perspective.
"I could see how some people would probably say 'Okay, you've tried to come back, you've now had a crazy little freak injury, maybe you should just quit' - I never saw it like that."
In the end, Ricciardo managed to recover from the injury and showed an incredible performance during the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix weekend.
The 34-year-old qualified in amazing fourth place ahead of drivers like Sergio Perez, Lando Norris, or Lewis Hamilton on supposedly faster cars, and then he finished the race in seventh place - the best result for AlphaTauri in the whole season.
Ricciardo achieved all that because he did not let the injury and other people talking get into his mind. The F1 driver shared he's now determined to fight at the front again next season.
"I thought 'Okay, this is a shame, but it's fine' I'm going keep on this path and I'm determined to fight at the front again. So it's been a roller coaster, but I feel really good about it."
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