Daniel Ricciardo in ‘pretty pathetic’ admission over key F1 moment

Daniel Ricciardo speaks on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — Photo: © LAT Images

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Ricciardo in ‘pretty pathetic’ admission over key F1 moment

The Aussie has admitted the incident took the wind out of his sails after his return to F1

Tyler Rowlinson

Saturday 27 January 2024 21:57

Daniel Ricciardo has admitted that his crash at the Dutch Grand Prix which left him sidelined for five races was ‘pretty pathetic.’

Ricciardo’s F1 career looked to be under threat when he departed McLaren at the end of the 2022 season, leaving him low on confidence and out of love with the sport.

Fast forward a year and he seems back to his old self after making his dramatic return with AlphaTauri, replacing Nyck de Vries from Hungary onwards.

Daniel Ricciardo made his return to F1 with AlphaTauri halfway through 2023

Ricciardo had lost the passion for the sport after his departure from Mclaren

Ricciardo: 'Zandvoort crash was pretty pathetic'

Speaking with motorsport.com, Ricciardo opened up on how the time away from the cockpit gave him a different perspective on his career and life.

He said: “When you go through something, obviously it can change you a little bit and give you maybe a different perspective, or make you appreciate the good times more or understand how to handle the low.

“Or when you were down, maybe then you realise what's important to you and what isn't.

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“So, just through all of that stuff, I think you learn a lot about yourself. And I think coming out of it, I realised that I still really love this, I still do believe in myself.”

The Aussie broke his hand just two races into his F1 comeback

But despite reigniting his passion for F1, he suffered another setback just two races into his return when he broke his hand after a crash in practice at Zandvoort, which he described as ‘pretty pathetic.’

“I just felt hungry and motivated again, like my old self, and I was loving it. So then for that to happen, it did temporarily take a bit of wind out of my sails," he explained.

“I just tried to think ahead, to the quickest way I can get better and recover again, and I just refused to let the hard work I'd put in the whole year to get back to that place come undone because of an injury."

McLaren Daniel Ricciardo Dutch Grand Prix AlphaTauri Nyck de Vries Zandvoort