Drive to Survive: Ricciardo reveals sacrifices that made F1 dream come true

Drive to Survive

Ricciardo reveals sacrifices that made F1 dream come true

Daniel Ricciardo tells cameras of sacrifices his family made to get to F1

Originally written by Shay Rogers. This version is a translation.

Saturday 17 February 2024 18:57

Daniel Ricciardo is one of the faces of Formula 1 - and Drive to Survive in particular - but his road to the top of the sport wasn't as smooth as many might think.

It’s Drive to Survive release month – which means that here at GPFans, we’re taking a look back at some of the biggest moments and stories from the show’s history.

Five seasons of chaos have come and gone, and we’re sure to get even more of it when the sixth season drops on 23 February – the last day of Formula 1’s 2024 pre-season test in Bahrain.

Now, we’re going to take a look at quite possibly the most popular person to ever feature in the series – that man is Daniel Ricciardo.

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Inside five seasons, he has driven for three different teams, taken victories with two of them, collided with his high-profile team-mate and stamped his own mark on the show.

Daniel Ricciardo speaks to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner in 2023

The man with an infectious personality

In season six – which is set to be released on 23 February, he makes a return with AlphaTauri to drive for his fourth team in five years.

While we don’t know what it covers yet, his recovery from a broken hand sustained at the Dutch Grand Prix will likely be a key talking point.

Going all the way back to the very first episode of Drive to Survive ever, Daniel Ricciardo shared some of the sacrifices his parents made for him to achieve his dreams of reaching Formula 1.

Daniel Ricciardo made an F1 return with AlphaTauri in 2023

The sacrifices made to reach F1

“As a kid I loved motorbikes, I loved NASCAR. But F1, that was the fastest circuit cars in the world. That’s really why I got into Formula 1,” he said.

“I wanted to try and see if I could be the best in the world. Picturing myself on the top step of an F1 podium – I had visualised that feeling since I was a kid. To be world champion would mean the world to me.

“For my family, my dream involved sacrifices. My dad was building his own business, but also taking me karting on the weekends and spending the money he’d made to then put into me,” Ricciardo continued.

“All the struggles, all the bad days, leaving home so young. Winning the world title – it would make it all so worth it. I do believe I can be world champion and for me it’s like ‘why else would I be doing this?’.

It feels as if Ricciardo’s career has been on a landslide ever since that moment – choosing to leave Red Bull, a lacklustre period at Renault followed by a McLaren disaster.

We all hope that he has his career back on track as he races for Visa Cash App RB this year, as he bids for a Red Bull comeback ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Judging by what Max Verstappen has achieved and where Ricciardo was compared to him at Red Bull, it’s not out of the realms of possibility to imagine that he could’ve won a world championship with them if he had decided to stay and that he may yet win one before the end of his career.

Formula 1 Daniel Ricciardo Drive to Survive