"That's why I'm still here": Daniel Ricciardo opens up on hunger behind his return to F1

Daniel Ricciardo has opened up on his hunger to return to F1 after some time away and on the reasons he's still willing to put in the hard yards. The Australian was considered one of the top drivers in F1 in 2020 when he signed for McLaren. However, his stint at the British team proved disastrous for him as he was completely outclassed by Lando Norris.

Daniel Ricciardo just couldn't compete with Lando Norris and had a hard time getting to grips with the car. As a result, McLaren cut short the Australian's three-year contract to just two, and he was replaced by Oscar Piastri.

Daniel Ricciardo was then forced to take up a reserve driver role at Red Bull. When AlphaTauri was struggling, with Nyck de Vries unable to keep up with Yuki Tsunoda, Daniel impressed everyone with his pace in the Pirelli tire test and hence was given the seat with the sister team.

Since getting the chance mid-year last season, Daniel Ricciardo's performance at AlphaTauri/RB has not been the most consistent. He has had a few good race performances but there have been quite a few bad ones as well.

In an interview with PlanetF1, the driver opened up on why he was back in the sport and what drove him to be a part of the paddock again. Touching on the euphoria after the result in the Miami Sprint event, Daniel said,

“Obviously, I took some time off last year. I’m back here because I still have that hunger – I’m not back here because I made some bad investments and I need to make money or anything. Honestly, I’m back here because I still believe I can do it. I’m still hungry. Even after Miami, you know, I had such a good Sprint. And then the race was not, mainly due to qualifying."

He added,

“That high of the good result filled me with so much joy again, but then not backing it up on the Sunday kind of just ate me away. [After Miami], I stayed in the States, and I was in LA and I had a really nice week. I enjoyed myself, just being with friends and stuff. But what I wanted to be doing more was being back at the track and getting a result. So yeah, that’s why I’m still here."

Daniel Ricciardo on what he told Red Bull when he signed a contract with the team

Daniel Ricciardo further expanded on his thought process when it came to joining Red Bull. The driver clarified that even when he signed on the dotted line, he made it clear to the brand that he had not come for a big contract, he had come to prove to himself that he still had it as a driver.

“It’s moments like that on Saturday when I know I can still do it, and I’m still hungry to do it. That’s what I told Red Bull when I signed this deal last year with them. I said this isn’t about me trying to find this big contract or anything silly – it’s about me just trying to prove to myself that I can still do it.”

Recent comments from Red Bull's Helmut Marko have suggested that Daniel Ricciardo's future is not too safe at the moment. The driver's performances have not been the best, and with Yuki Tsunoda's future secured, the Australian would have to raise his levels to secure his future.