“The Lows Were Real”: Daniel Ricciardo’s ‘Party Animal’ Persona Holds Its Deep Secrets

After a difficult couple of years and a disappointing end with McLaren, Daniel Ricciardo is finally back home. The Red Bull man has not felt like himself ever since he left the team for Renault back in 2019. That is also when the Australian sat down with Autoweek to answer a few questions before his move to Renault. One reply to a question made Ricciardo somewhat predict his F1 future.

There was no way for Ricciardo to know that life in Formula 1 was going to become difficult for the Australian. The move for Renault and then to McLaren all felt right at the time. However, Ricciardo experienced the same unpredictable nature of F1 he spoke about during the interview.

When asked how he likes to celebrate his wins, Ricciardo revealed, he was extremely strict with himself. However, he changed his mindset and loosened up a little.

“Then I started to loosen up a little bit, within reason, but it’s important to enjoy the highs. In 2015, I realized the lows were real. But if I do have a win or have a podium, I can go enjoy it, go out have a few drinks, have a nice dinner with your friends because it doesn’t happen every day,” said Ricciardo right before his difficult stint in the sport began.

“This sport’s so complex, — unfortunately the good days aren’t that frequent — I do try to enjoy a good day when I have one,” he concluded.

Read More: Worn Out Daniel Ricciardo Begs for a Breather From Red Bull Family After a Miserable 2022

Little did Ricciardo know his words were going to define his next four years. However, he did experience one moment of pure ecstasy with McLaren with his maiden win for the team among all the lows.

Daniel Ricciardo talks about the biggest moment of his career

Ricciardo had won a Grand Prix on seven different occasions in his career before moving to McLaren. Then why does he rank his eighth win as the best of his career? It has all to do with perseverance.

In Ricciardo’s words, “It’s more the fact that I’m sure 99% of people would have not put me down to win a race this year, so that’s why I’m most proud of that moment; I found a way to overcome some of the lows and make the most of the opportunity when it came. And I really do think it was the biggest moment, win, race, day of my motorsport career.”

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We will not be seeing Ricciardo on the grid in 2023. However, let’s hope the Australian can make a comeback in 2024 and live more such moments.