Daniel Ricciardo reveals excitement over legendary race

Photo: © IMAGO

Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo reveals excitement over legendary race

Daniel Ricciardo was sacked by VCARB midway through the 2024 season

By Sam Cook.

Friday 8 May 2026 23:00

Former Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo has announced he will make an appearance in the paddock at one of motorsport’s most famous races later this month.

Ricciardo stepped away from Formula 1 in 2024 after losing his seat at VCARB, marking the second time in just three seasons that he had been dropped by a team.

His departure closed the chapter on a 14-year F1 career that included eight Grand Prix victories and established him as one of the sport’s most popular personalities.

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The majority of the Australian's success came with Red Bull, and his recent signing on as an ambassador with Ford Racing led to suggestions that he could be seen in the paddock at various grands prix in 2026 because of Ford's new partnership with Red Bull Racing.

However, Ricciardo revealed that his role has nothing to do with the F1 power unit side of things, and that he would more be heading to some of Ford Racing's other racing series around the world.

The iconic Indy500 is part of motorsport's legendary triple crown, and this year falls on the weekend of May 23/24, the same weekend as the F1 Canadian Grand Prix.

Ricciardo has revealed his excitement about watching the race simply as a fan, away from the F1 'bubble'.

"What you've told me about IndyCar and the 500 like I've never been more excited since I was a kid to go to a race and just be a fan of a race," Ricciardo told the Speed Street podcast.

Speaking to IndyCar racer Daly, Ricciardo said: "To experience it in the way you speak about it, you've done the European thing and travelled the world racing, I think this is going to really hit me hard, I'm excited to be a fan and to share you the hometown hero on the biggest race of the year that's cool."

Ricciardo then shared what he's most excited for about the race. "Alot," he said. "I was in the F1 bubble for so long and I got used to how intense the schedule was, the paddock, all of it. And that became normal, but now I'm outside of it I'm like that was far from normal, the schedule was down to the minute. And so there's a curiosity of like what does a week look like for you for the biggest race of the year.

"The sheer size of the in-field. Everyone says that's insane. So there's that, and the sound. The sound is something that I grew up, that was what I was drawn to most with racing was how cool race cars sounded so very curious to hear what they sound like wide open.

"And yeah, seeing coming into turn one how scary that looks and I'll be glad that I don't have a suit or a helmet on!"

What is motorsport's triple crown?

Now Ricciardo is no longer an F1 driver, he has more time to potentially attempt to claim wins in other legs of motorsport's triple crown.

He already has the Monaco Grand Prix side of that, won in 2018, but is yet to attempt the Indy500 or 24 Hours of Le Mans races.

The only racer ever to have claimed victories in all three events is Britain's Graham Hill, who was also a two-time world champion in F1.

Several racers have completed two legs of the triple crown, including Fernando Alonso who won Le Mans in 2018 and 2019, and Juan Pablo Montoya.

It remains to be seen whether or not Ricciardo wants to try to win Indy500 in the future, but at the age of 36, he still has time on his side. This year, however, he will be watching safely from the paddock as a fan.

F1 Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo Indy 500