Daniel Ricciardo Reveals Retirement Plans

After the 2022 season, Daniel Ricciardo left McLaren and became the third driver for Red Bull. He has some history with the team as he returned to become their third driver. But what next for him was to replace Nyck de Vries and take on a permanent role in AlphaTauri. Although he made his return to Formula 1, the run was short-lived. With all the success, he contemplates walking away from his beloved sport.

Ricciardo broke a metacarpal bone in his hand during the second free practice of the Dutch Grand Prix and had to retire for the weekend. Following that, he had four months of rest, which put him on the sideline again. With his injury healed, he is ready to drive for the team, which has rebranded to the Visa Cash App Red Bull Formula 1 team. And before starting off the 2024 season, he discussed his future in F1, touching on his retirement.

Daniel Ricciardo’s plans post 40

Lawrence Baretto interviewed Daniel Ricciardo on the official F1 YouTube channel before the 2024 season, and they discussed the driver’s objectives. Ricciardo shared his experience of returning to the sport after an off-season. They then discussed his plans for staying within F1. The 34-year-old Australian driver was asked about what he described as a second chapter in his career.

Baretto stated, “You’re only 34, but do you see that if things go well at this minute in time, you could just keep going and going and going?” He referenced Fernando Alonso, who still races at 42, and mentioned, “Not like maybe Fernando Alonso, but you know, you can keep racing for the for cable.” To this, Ricciardo responded, “That’s certainly the approach because look, do I want to be racing into my 40s? Probably not.”

While this might come off as a shock, Ricciardo continued, “But the approach and the mindset is if I prepare myself well and do everything I know I need to do, there’s no reason why I still can’t be performing at a top level, you know, into my 40s, so to speak.”

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In the end, he expressed, “Um, okay, when I get to that age or whatever, I’ll cross that bridge and make those decisions. But yeah, the mindset is put everything into this so I can sustain this and can keep doing it, um, like Fernando is, for example.”

During Ricciardo’s discussion with Baretto, they delved into the various challenges he had faced in recent months. But this came with his highlight of what he wants to achieve with the Visa Cash App Red Bull F1 Team.

Daniel Ricciardo’s expectations from Visa Cash App Red Bull

Now that Daniel Ricciardo is back to racing with the Visa Cash App Red Bull F1 Team, there are many things he expects from the team. He told F1.com, “There are a lot of new personnel, some big partners coming onboard.” After the emergence of a fresh team, Ricciardo is ready to prove a point.

With this, Daniel Ricciardo is ready to have a positive year with the Visa Cash App Red Bull team. Do you think he will achieve his mission of dominating the midfield? Let us know your thoughts below.

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