Daniel Ricciardo: "I took a little bit of a gamble on myself by leaving Red Bull in 2018"

Daniel Ricciardo surprised the entire F1 fraternity after he left Red Bull at the end of 2018. The Australian had a brilliant relationship with the team and was winning several podiums for them as well. However, he recently opened up about how he needed a change and defended his decision.

Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Ricciardo spoke about how he understood how risky it was to leave a strong team like Red Bull. Nonetheless, he said he does not regret his decision and was quite happy with the move. The Australian said:

"It’s not a sure thing that it would have been great if I stayed. I don’t look back and say, ‘Man, I shouldn’t have [left]’. But, of course, I can be honest with myself and say, ‘Yeah, I took a little bit of a gamble on myself’."

Ricciardo also reminisced about his time at Renault (currently Alpine) and how he was able to push the team forward. He admitted that his time at McLaren wasn't the best, despite winning a race back in 2021. He said:

“I still feel like the Renault [move] was pretty good, especially 2020 – [that was] one of the best seasons I’ve driven in F1. To get the team back on the podium, I was very proud of that. But obviously the McLaren one, even with the win… the win was a high and I can’t remove that, I can’t ignore that. I can look and say, ‘I tried as well with this one [and] it didn’t quite work out’."

McLaren parted ways with Daniel Ricciardo after the 2022 F1 season and signed Oscar Piastri for 2023. Soon after the season ended, Red Bull announced that the Australian will be returning to the team as a reserve and simulator driver.

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Lando Norris learnt quite a lot from Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren

Despite finishing ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris learned quite a lot from his former Australian teammate. In an interview with ESPN, Norris explained how he picked up a lot of aspects of racing and mentality from Ricciardo. The young Briton expressed how he struggled a lot from the pressure and the overwhelming atmosphere that surrounds every F1 driver. He said:

"I've still been able to learn a hell of a lot from Daniel. His approach to racing, his mentality with it all, (you) see in the tough times how he keeps so strong with it all and has so much belief in himself. That's something I struggled a lot with when I came into F1 and something I've been able to learn a lot from him over the past couple of years."

In the 2022 F1 season, Norris was able to dominate the midfield table and single-handedly fought the Alpine drivers for a good constructor and driver standings. He finished the season with 122 points, whereas Daniel Ricciardo was only able to earn 37.