Ricciardo secretly retired for years: he just doesn't know it himself yet

Ricciardo fought his way into Formula 1 and in 2014, the spotlight came on him. Ricciardo managed to beat teammate Sebastian Vettel on his debut for Red Bull Racing. The man who had just won four world titles in a row. Ricciardo impressed with good qualifying and late braking.

The picture changed when Red Bull Racing decided to bring Max Verstappen to the team in 2016. Daniil Kvyat made many mistakes and was pushed aside. Ricciardo had to prove himself again against this then-upcoming talent. The fact that Verstappen won immediately in Barcelona did not help the Australian's self-confidence.

How Verstappen created doubts for Ricciardo

Throughout the rest of 2016 and 2017, Ricciardo showed that he could race. Verstappen had high peaks, but over a full year, Ricciardo still beat him in the World Championship. In 2018, the tide turned. After two wins in China and Monaco, Ricciardo felt like the leader, but saw Red Bull extend the contract of his younger teammate who had just crashed several times. Somewhat compromised in his honour, Ricciardo searched for another team, but the door remained closed at top teams, Mercedes and Ferrari.

In the search for another team, Ricciardo forgot to work on himself. Verstappen switched gears from the Canadian Grand Prix and maximised almost every weekend after that. Ricciardo was looking for excuses, and he began to lose more and more. The team had more confidence in Verstappen. Another reason why Ricciardo wanted to leave the team. He moved to Renault, the engine supplier that had caused him so many problems that year.

With a fat contract in his pocket, Ricciardo began his Renault adventure. Alongside Nico Hulkenberg, he got the confirmation he was looking for. The fact that he beat Hulkenberg in his first year with the team proved to him that it had been down to the car and the team. There was nothing wrong with him. That was confirmed the following year alongside his new teammate Esteban Ocon.

Ricciardo had learnt nothing from the duel with Verstappen

With that confidence regained, Ricciardo decided to make the switch to McLaren. In his eyes, a better team, with a better car and thus the chance to return to the top. However, Ricciardo had overlooked Lando Norris.

At McLaren, Ricciardo had learned nothing from his time alongside Max Verstappen. Three years later, he immediately lost the duel to Lando Norris, and it was again down to everything and everyone except Daniel himself. In two years, Ricciardo was beaten, and McLaren even decided to buy out his contract. How close Oscar Piastri was to Norris as a rookie afterwards showed once again that it had not been down to the car but to Ricciardo's performance.

Meanwhile, after a few months on the sidelines, Ricciardo had regained confidence. After a test in the almighty Red Bull car, friend Christian Horner pushed for Daniel's return to the sport. Red Bull complied and kicked Nyck de Vries out. De Vries may not have had the best period behind him, but would Ricciardo really do better?

Ricciardo has actually been retired for years

The answer is 'no'. Back in 2023, it was already clear that Ricciardo was faster than Yuki Tsunoda at times, but he could not beat the quick Japanese driver over a longer period. After the winter break, Ricciardo declared to everyone that he was ready for the F1 season, but he has been even further away from Tsunoda than the previous year.

Ricciardo, who went through stormy development early in his career, forgot somewhere along the way to keep working on himself. More and more, he sought blame outside himself. Once again, at VCARB. He told F1TV after the Australian Grand Prix that his team needed to investigate the car completely. It could not be that he, Daniel Ricciardo, was really that much slower than his teammate.

Standing still is going backwards, especially at the top. All the drivers around Ricciardo have continued to develop every year, while Ricciardo has been stagnant for years. Mentally, he retired at the end of 2018; now it is time to actually do so. Liam Lawson deserves his seat. He has already shown that he has the same speed and is eager to prove and learn. Give the kid a chance; Ricciardo has had his for a long time.