Ricciardo Reveals 'Fears Of Retirement' Amid F1 Chapter Coming To Close

Saturday, 28 October 2023 at 23:30

AlphaTauri F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo revealed he fears what to do after retirement from Formula One.

Daniel Ricciardo found himself in a tough spot after his contract with McLaren was terminated at the end of the season 2022, and he had no team to race for.

Fortunately for the Australian, Red Bull Racing took him in for the role of third driver, and when the opportunity presented itself, Ricciardo got his seat in the F1 car again.

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The Honey Badger is currently driving for the sister team of Red Bull - AlphaTauri, and got his contract prolonged for the season 2024. In a conversation with Sky Sports, Ricciardo told the media:

“"But I’ll say, am I happy to be back and am I happy to be back in that environment with the people that, let’s say got me here? Absolutely."”

The Australian revealed the perspective of a Formula One driver who spends 20 years focusing on one single goal - trying to win the World Championship.

“"There’s a bit of a fear sometimes of retirement, you know you’ve kind of had this one objective your whole life. You’ve woken up every day for the last 20 years to do something so when that goes, it’s like, ‘OK, who am I? Fortunately, I felt like I was really happy as well on the sidelines."”

Ricciardo isn't the oldest driver on the grid. The Australian is 8 years younger compared to Fernando Alonso, who achieved seven podiums with Aston Martin this season.

The Honey Badger believes he can still win races. However, he was not so sure when it came to talking about winning the World Championship.

“"Do I believe I can still win races? Absolutely. Will I be a world champion one day? I’d love to say yes but I honestly don’t know and I can’t say that it’s definitely going to happen and if I end up winning enough races which lead to a world title then hell yeah."”