Daniel Ricciardo Gets Real on Hopeless McLaren Moments That Made Him Say: “S*rew This… I’m Done”

The crowd favorite, Honey Badger, recently appeared on ‘In the Fastest Lane: F1 and MotoGP’ podcast. Daniel Ricciardo has been having a consistent low in his graph of performance in the past couple of years. And as the Australian decided to take a step back from racing, he came clean about the struggles and frustrations he felt on the tracks.

Daniel Ricciardo has had a rollercoaster journey in the F1 world. He started racing full-time under the Red Bull umbrella and bagged seven victories driving for the team. However, he hasn’t gotten much out of his performances after leaving the Milton Keynes-based team for Renault and then McLaren.

Now that the Australian has returned to the home team, he came forward with his frustrations as an F1 driver. Taking the much-needed break from the track, Ricciardo reflects on his ‘hopeless’ times at McLaren.

When asked if he’d fallen out of love with F1, he shared, “I’d say aspects of it, but not as a whole. Like if I’m emotional after a race then yeah, I’d probably say, yeah. S*rew this like I’m done with it. I’ve put all this effort in and I’ve got a 17th place out of it.”

“For sure, from an emotional standpoint at times, you just kind of shrug your shoulders like, what more can I do?”

“I even look back at Mexico, it’s funny. I enjoyed having pace and feeling normal again. But also a part of me was also frustrated because I was like, where has this been? Like the car’s gotten grip. I’m able to just effortlessly point it where I want to. For the most part, I can point it where I want it,” he added.

“That was me just having fun again, so as much as I loved it, I was also a bit frustrated because I was like what’s changed? But why now? The car just decided to come alive again.”

“At times it felt a bit hopeless,” he said, in conclusion.

Read More: As His Own F1 Dreams Crashed Down, Poised Daniel Ricciardo Breaks Down His Call With McLaren Successor Oscar Piastri

Talking to Matt Clayton and Michael Lamonato, Ricciardo also delves into how his usual weekend was different from other drivers.

Daniel Ricciardo states that weekends were ‘demanding’

The Australian talks about what it was like being an F1 racer and the challenges he faced on the weekends- the pressure of a jam-packed schedule that was draining beyond measure.

He said, “People would want to sit down and have lunch with you or chat to you after qualifying, and I show them my 4 or sometimes 5 or 6-day schedule. And they’re like, ‘oh! you’re on for every minute.’ It’s wild.”

“But there’s no doubt about it that it is very demanding.”

Talking about his off-weekend, the Honey Badger said, “After races, physically you feel tired. When we are not racing, Monday, Tuesday, that’s where I don’t want to think about racing.”

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Daniel Ricciardo arguably disappointed many F1 fans by leaving the grid for the upcoming season. Do you think his decision was valid? Would you want to see him race again?