Daniel Ricciardo Reveals Following Nico Rosberg’s Footsteps Once He Retires from F1

McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo sat down for an all-guards-down interview with Formula One’s Beyond the Grid team. The Australian talked about his first victory with McLaren, his return to the big leagues in F1, and he also chatted about how Texas changed his perspective of the sport. In his usual cheery style, Ricciardo responded to fans’ messages as well. But what stood out the most during the podcast is Ricciardo’s honest admission of what he might do after retiring from F1.

Daniel Ricciardo on his plans after retiring from F1

Daniel Ricciardo has this larger-than-life presence in the F1 paddocks that everyone adores. While it might seem unbelievable, the 8-times Grand Prix Champion is currently in his 11 season of Formula One, and five or ten years down the line, he expects to take a step back from the sport.

As a massively experienced racer, Daniel brought McLaren their first F1 victory since 2012. Amidst talks of his victory for his new team, the interviewer asked, “What is your relationship with racing, you know, the day you retire five years, ten years hence from Formula 1, will you race anything else or will that be it? Will you do a Nico Rosberg or Damon Hill and not race anything again?”

Daniel had an interesting answer to this. He said, “In my head, that’s what I’ve told myself. And not because I want to think a certain way, but I think that’s how I will feel. But who knows, you know, as I said, with lockdown, I missed it [racing], so, I think I’ll always do something–it might be two wheels–it might just be me riding my 1-10, you know, five days a week and getting my kicks out of that. But I want to say I put everything into it so that when I do retire, I’m actually exhausted from it because I poured all my current existence into this, and it’s now time to do something else. So, I would like to leave with that fulfillment, if you know what I mean. So, that would be my idea of it.”

Ricciardo is one of the most experienced drivers in F1 right now

Daniel Ricciardo has a huge fan following due to his late-breaking skills and his amazing personality. But what most people forget is that he has come a long way since his F1 debut in 2011. As a McLaren driver, Ricciardo did struggle a bit to adjust to his new car at the beginning of the season, but now, it is all smooth sailing.

As the Championship Standings show us, Ricciardo is in the 8 position due to some racing blunders in the earlier races of 2021. But he has since gotten used to his car and believes he can bring more podium victories to his team. As only six races are left for this season, every Grand Prix is very crucial for all the drivers.

Will Daniel be able to deliver a stellar performance at the US Grand Prix? Will his team, McLaren, be able to successfully compete with Ferrari and come third in the Constructors’ Championship rankings? Only time will tell.