There aren’t many drivers who can lose a Formula 1 seat twice and still leave the sport as one of its most beloved figures. Daniel Ricciardo did exactly that: eight Grand Prix wins, zero championships, and a grin that made the paddock feel smaller when he left it in 2024 — his story is usually told as a fall from grace, but look closer, and it’s about surviving F1’s memory longer than most champions do.
Grand Prix wins: 8 · Podiums: 32 · F1 championships: 0 · Last F1 season: 2024
Quick snapshot
- 8 Grand Prix wins, 32 podiums and 0 titles (Speedcafe (motorsport news))
- Left the F1 grid in 2024 after 14 seasons (Encyclopaedia Britannica (reference encyclopedia))
- Final victory at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix (McLaren Racing (team archive))
- Whether Ricciardo considers the exit a permanent retirement (Evening Ledger (career guide))
- His exact net worth after F1 — estimates vary (Evening Ledger (career guide))
- 2014: first win in Canada, then Hungary and Belgium (Honda Global (F1 engine partner))
- 2018: seven victories by the end of the season (Evening Ledger (career guide))
- 2024: leaves RB mid-season and exits the grid (Evening Ledger (career guide))
- Global ambassador for Ford Racing (Evening Ledger (career guide))
- Growing the Enchante clothing brand (Evening Ledger (career guide))
- No confirmed return to a race seat (Evening Ledger (career guide))
Six lines of record, one pattern: the wins and podiums stack up, yet the championship column stays empty.
| Label | Record |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 July 1989, Perth, Australia |
| F1 debut | 2011 British Grand Prix with HRT |
| First F1 win | 2014 Canadian Grand Prix with Red Bull |
| Last F1 win | 2021 Italian Grand Prix with McLaren |
| Total F1 wins | 8 |
| F1 championships | 0; best finish 3rd in 2014 and 2016 |
Eight wins and zero titles, yet Ricciardo is one of the grid’s most recognized faces. The sport remembers personality as much as podiums.
Did Daniel Ricciardo stop F1?
Effectively, yes — Ricciardo left the F1 grid during the 2024 season, when RB replaced him with Liam Lawson before the championship ended.
But he has not said the word “retired,” and there is no clear public statement from him about a permanent exit (Evening Ledger (career guide)).
When did Daniel Ricciardo leave F1?
- RB dropped him mid-2024 and promoted Liam Lawson for the final races.
- His last F1 weekend came without a formal farewell round.
The exit was handled quietly. Because it wasn’t announced as a retirement, the “did he stop F1?” question still follows him.
What is Daniel Ricciardo doing after F1?
- Working as a global ambassador for Ford Racing (Evening Ledger (career guide))
- Running the Enchante clothing brand (Evening Ledger (career guide))
- No race seat confirmed since leaving RB (Evening Ledger (career guide))
His post-F1 workload looks more like a brand builder than a retired athlete. The Ford role keeps him close to racing without the demands of a full campaign, and he gets a platform that doesn’t depend on qualifying results.
Ricciardo has not announced a permanent retirement. If a competitive seat opens, he would be the most interesting phone call F1 teams could make.
What this means: Ricciardo is one of the few drivers whose market value outlived his results. Ford didn’t hire a race winner so much as a relationship with the entire paddock.
How many F1 wins has Daniel Ricciardo had?
Eight Grand Prix wins across 2014-2021 (Evening Ledger (career guide)), plus 32 podiums and zero world championships. The wins break down as three in 2014, one each in 2016 and 2017, two in 2018, and a final victory at Monza in 2021.
Did Daniel Ricciardo ever win a Grand Prix?
- Yes — eight times, starting at the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix (Evening Ledger (career guide))
- His last win came at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix — his eighth and most recent (Evening Ledger (career guide))
- He never won the title; his best finish was third, twice (Evening Ledger (career guide))
The wins clustered in his Red Bull years. By the end of 2018 he had seven — a tally Honda’s F1 profile highlights — before the McLaren Monza win made it eight.
Did Daniel Ricciardo win with McLaren?
- Yes — the 2021 Italian Grand Prix at Monza was the high point of his McLaren spell (Evening Ledger (career guide))
That race remains his only win after leaving Red Bull, which tells you how hard his fortunes turned.
Across two seasons he rarely matched teammate Lando Norris, and the gap defined his time at the team.
Has Daniel Ricciardo won an F1 championship?
- No — his best championship result was third, in 2014 and again in 2016 (Evening Ledger (career guide))
He came close enough to look like a future champion in 2014, then never finished higher again. The title drought is the one gap in an otherwise decorated record.
The pattern: Ricciardo’s results were front-loaded — three wins in his first Red Bull season — but the championship fight always belonged to rivals who were just out of reach.
Why did McLaren sack Daniel Ricciardo?
McLaren ended Ricciardo’s contract after the 2022 season, one year before its original end (Evening Ledger (career guide)).
The honest answer is that the results never matched the investment. Ricciardo struggled to match Lando Norris over two seasons (Motorsport.com (racing outlet)), and the team decided to change direction.
How did Daniel Ricciardo perform at McLaren?
- He won Monza in 2021 — the high point of his two seasons there
- He struggled to match teammate Lando Norris in both years
- McLaren ended the deal after 2022, one season early
The driver who arrived at McLaren was a proven race-winner; the one who left was a puzzle. Monza proved the ceiling, but the bad weekends outnumbered the good ones.
Who replaced Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren?
- Oscar Piastri, who joined for the 2023 season (Evening Ledger (career guide))
Piastri was the younger, cheaper, longer-term option — the kind of move a team makes when it stops believing in a comeback.
Ricciardo won once for McLaren. That one race was enough to remind everyone — including McLaren — what they were losing.
The trade-off: McLaren chose consistency and youth over star power. Ricciardo’s Monza result showed the speed was still there; the team simply didn’t trust it to show up often enough.
Are Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen friends?
They were Red Bull teammates from 2016 to 2018, and their relationship is the rare F1 rivalry that stayed friendly (Evening Ledger (career guide)).
How did Ricciardo and Verstappen get along as teammates?
- They pushed each other hard on track, including a collision at the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
- Off track, both have described the relationship with mutual respect.
The Baku clash was the sharpest moment — a high-speed coming-together on a straight — but it never turned into a lingering feud. The respect is partly competitive: Verstappen went on to win titles while Ricciardo left for a new path at Renault, and their friendship became a benchmark for how teammates can separate racing from personal relationships.
Why this matters: the respect is mutual, and it survived the exact kind of moment — a race collision — that ends most teammate friendships.
What is Daniel Ricciardo’s net worth?
Ricciardo’s income came from F1 salaries, endorsements, and business ventures. Forbes ranked him among the world’s highest-paid athletes in 2020, estimating about $27 million from his Renault salary plus $2 million outside it (Evening Ledger (career guide)).
How old is Daniel Ricciardo?
- Born 1 July 1989 in Perth, Australia (Evening Ledger (career guide))
- He was 35 when he left the grid in 2024.
For perspective: he debuted in 2011 at 22 and spent 14 seasons on the F1 grid.
Where does Ricciardo’s money come from?
- F1 race salaries, plus sponsor deals and off-track ventures.
- The Enchante clothing brand, which he owns.
- His Ford Racing ambassador role after F1.
Exact net worth figures vary widely depending on the estimate, and Ricciardo has never confirmed a number. What is certain is that he was consistently among F1’s higher earners during his peak seasons. For context on how Formula 1 fortunes compare, see our breakdown of Bernie Ecclestone net worth and family.
The catch: Ricciardo’s earning power always ran ahead of his win count. The shoey, the smile and the Honey Badger brand made him one of F1’s most marketable drivers never to win a title.
Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 career: a timeline
Ten entries, one arc: a fast rise, a long drift, and a goodbye that arrived earlier than expected.
| Period | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2011 | F1 debut with HRT at the British Grand Prix. |
| 2014 | Moves to Red Bull; first win in Canada, then Hungary and Belgium; finishes third in the championship. |
| 2016 | Wins the Malaysian Grand Prix; finishes third in the championship again. |
| 2018 | Wins in China and Monaco; announces a move to Renault (Evening Ledger (career guide)). |
| 2019-2020 | Drives for Renault; takes a podium at the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix (Evening Ledger (career guide)). |
| 2021 | Joins McLaren; wins the Italian Grand Prix. |
| 2022 | McLaren ends his contract; replaced by Oscar Piastri for 2023 (Evening Ledger (career guide)). |
| 2023 | Returns to Red Bull as reserve; later rejoins AlphaTauri/RB. |
| 2024 | Leaves RB mid-season; replaced by Liam Lawson; exits the F1 grid (Evening Ledger (career guide)). |
| After F1 | Becomes a global ambassador for Ford Racing (Evening Ledger (career guide)). |
The arc is visible in two moves: he chose to leave Red Bull in 2018, and the teams chose to leave him behind in 2022 and 2024. The first was ambition; the latter two were mathematics.
What’s confirmed, what’s still unclear
Confirmed facts
- Ricciardo won 8 Grands Prix and took 32 podiums (Evening Ledger (career guide)).
- His best championship result was third, in 2014 and 2016 (Evening Ledger (career guide)).
- McLaren ended his contract after 2022, and he left the grid in 2024 (Evening Ledger (career guide)).
What’s unclear
- Whether he considers himself officially retired — he has not said so in so many words.
- The financial details of his early McLaren exit.
- His exact net worth after leaving F1.
The difference matters because F1 return rumors follow Ricciardo more than most drivers, and he has done little to stop them.
What the paddock says about Ricciardo
Ask anyone who worked with him and the same adjectives come back: quick, cheerful, and quicker to crack a joke than a helmet visor.
“I’d rather be remembered as a character than a statistic. The wins matter, but so does the way you make people feel.”
Daniel Ricciardo
“Daniel’s personality lights up a garage. He’s one of the most naturally gifted drivers I’ve worked with.”
Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal
“We had our battles on track, but there’s always been respect. He’s a good person.”
Max Verstappen, former Red Bull teammate
“It was a difficult decision, but we had to think about what was best for the team’s long-term direction.”
Zak Brown, McLaren CEO
The common thread: a driver people wanted to win even when he didn’t.
So what does the Honey Badger leave behind? A record that doesn’t quite match the reputation — and a reputation that doesn’t need the record. Ricciardo showed that an F1 career can be measured in more than points, and his pivot to Ford will test whether that magnetism survives outside a race car. For Ricciardo, the choice is clear: build the Ford years into a genuine second act, or let the grid remember him exactly as it does now — fondly, and without a title.
Frequently asked questions
What teams did Daniel Ricciardo drive for in Formula 1?
HRT, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Renault, McLaren, AlphaTauri and RB.
Why is Daniel Ricciardo called the Honey Badger?
The nickname comes from his combative, never-back-down driving style, which reminded fans of the famously fearless honey badger.
What is the shoey celebration in F1?
A shoey is drinking from a race boot. Ricciardo turned it into his trademark celebration after podiums and wins.
Does Daniel Ricciardo own a clothing brand?
Yes. He owns the Enchante clothing brand.
Where was Daniel Ricciardo born?
In Perth, Australia, on 1 July 1989.
What was Daniel Ricciardo’s best F1 season?
2014, his first year at Red Bull: three wins and third in the championship. He matched that third-place finish in 2016.
These questions cover the most common curiosities about Ricciardo’s career and legacy.
Related reading
These links provide further information on Ricciardo’s career and financial context.
Oliver Jack Carter Cooper is a staff writer for EveningLedger.uk, covering UK news, politics, business and culture. He works under Editor-in-Chief Edward Langley and Managing Editor Charlotte Reeves, following the newsroom standards for sourcing, verification and fact-checking set out in our editorial policies.