Daniel Ricciardo accepts crash risk with 'scary' admission

Daniel Ricciardo has revealed the frightening mindset involved with being prepared to risk a crash in order to gain an extra position in F1.

Since being axed from the Racing Bulls F1 roster in September 2024, the Australian has not been seen on a race track.

The 36-year-old had been linked with a return to F1 through the Cadillac team who are joining the grid in 2026, while he has also been rumoured to be joining a different racing series such as IndyCar or the Supercars Championship.

However, Ricciardo issued an unofficial retirement at the end of last, year when he simply replied: "Nah, I'm done", when asked about a potential racing return.

In a rare public appearance in Australia before a minor dirt bike incident that left him hospitalised, Ricciardo spoke about the mentality needed during F1 races, and how it didn't come naturally to him.

"I would use too much energy trying to be tough all the time because it’s not natural for me," the fan favourite said in an interview at Ray White's Connect conference. "I would see other drivers who had that killer instinct from morning to night and I wished I could be like them.

"It becomes quite scary because there’s some unpredictability and risk involved. You might be in third place and think, 'Well, I’ve got a podium, do I need to risk crashing?' But it’s the most fun, and I always thought it was better to crash than not try.

"It got to a point [where] to me it was just instinct. You accept that if it doesn’t work you can be proud that you gave it a crack. I loved it, and I felt like the competitors would see me coming and knew I’d have a go, so I was already one step ahead."

Ricciardo's declining F1 trajectory

One driver who Ricciardo may have been talking about when discussing drivers with that 'killer instinct' could be his former team-mate Max Verstappen.

Seven of Ricciardo's eight grand prix victories came with Red Bull, but the Australian opted to move to Renault ahead of the 2019 season after it became clear that Verstappen had the better of him at what was Christian Horner's F1 outfit.

As it happened, Ricciardo's move to Renault was not the right decision, as the Australian fought in the midfield with Renault, McLaren and Racing Bulls, while Verstappen was winning championships with the dominant Red Bull team.

Ricciardo did claim one extra win with McLaren in 2021 but, by 2022, he was being axed prematurely by the team one year before the end of his contract.

That led to him heading back into the Red Bull family first as a reserve driver, and then with the team's junior outfit. However, following some poor performances, Ricciardo was once again axed before the end of his contract.

It meant that Ricciardo finished his career with the eight race victories, 32 podiums and two third-place drivers' championship finishes, with his instinct seemingly not enough to keep him employed in the pinnacle of motorsport

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