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Daniel Ricciardo F1 Career: Why He Left, Net Worth & Legacy

by  · ✓Reviewed by Oliver Trent, Standards & Fact-Checking Lead

Few drivers leave Formula 1 with as much goodwill as Daniel Ricciardo, which makes his quiet exit from the grid in 2024 feel especially strange. The Australian’s eight Grand Prix wins and 32 podiums, tracked by StatsF1 (race statistics database), earned him a devoted following — yet his final season ended not with a farewell tour but with a mid-year driver swap, as The Athletic (sports news outlet) reported, and the confirmed facts of his exit are now tangled with retirement speculation.

Full Name: Daniel Ricciardo ·
Born: 1 July 1989 ·
F1 Debut: 2011 ·
Last F1 Season: 2024 ·
F1 Wins: 8 ·
F1 Teams: 6 (HRT, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Renault, McLaren, AlphaTauri)

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
3Timeline signal
4What’s next

One set of numbers frames the whole story: eight wins, 32 podiums, and a nickname that outlasted the results.

Label Value
Full Name Daniel Ricciardo
Nickname The Honey Badger
Birth Date 1 July 1989
Birthplace Perth, Australia
F1 Career Span 2011 – 2024
Total Race Starts 257
Total Wins 8
Total Podiums 32

Biographical details trace to Honda Global (official driver archive); career statistics follow StatsF1 (race statistics database).

Why Has Daniel Ricciardo Left F1?

Ricciardo’s exit was decided before the 2024 season reached its final stretch. He left the RB seat after the Singapore Grand Prix, and Liam Lawson took over from the United States Grand Prix onward, as documented in the snapshot above. The reasons behind the swap were not one bad race or one mistake — they were a season of thin results.

Explaining the Performance Dip

That is the arithmetic that ended his final F1 chapter. In a paddock where every seat is a commercial decision, a veteran with a thin points season is an easy choice to move on from — especially when a younger option is already waiting inside the team.

The Rise of Liam Lawson

The timing mattered as much as the talent. Ricciardo was in his mid-30s when the axe fell, and Lawson represented exactly what teams want: time. In F1’s driver market, that counts more than nostalgia.

Red Bull’s Strategic Driver Lineup Decision

Why this matters

Red Bull chose its future over its past. Ricciardo’s eight wins and global fanbase could not outweigh the strategic logic of giving a younger driver the seat — and this time, the safety net of a reserve role was gone.

The implication: Ricciardo did not lose his seat to Lawson so much as to the system that produces drivers like Lawson. Once Red Bull’s strategy shifted to youth, the Honey Badger’s experience had no buyer.

Bottom line: Ricciardo’s F1 career ended the way many modern ones do — a thin results season, a younger replacement, and a team that chose its future over its past. For fans, the loss was emotional; for Red Bull, it was a spreadsheet.

The result: the same system that once made Ricciardo a star had already built its next prototype. Loyalty did not renegotiate the spreadsheet.

Is Daniel Ricciardo Retiring from F1?

Not officially. Ricciardo has not made a retirement announcement, and his public statements since leaving the RB seat have pointed to a break from Formula 1 rather than a farewell to motorsport, per PlanetF1 (F1 news outlet).

Ricciardo’s Official Statements on His Future

What to watch

Ricciardo’s language has been “break,” not “retirement.” The distinction protects his options — and his commercial value — while he figures out what a post-F1 racing life looks like.

The clearest public signal came in December 2024. Asked about a possible Cadillac F1 seat, Ricciardo answered on social media with two words: “I’m done,” as PlanetF1 (F1 news outlet) reported. The bluntness made headlines, but the remark was aimed at a Formula 1 return, not at motorsport as a whole. No formal retirement statement has followed.

Potential Moves to Other Racing Series

  • IndyCar, Supercars, and World Endurance have all been named in post-F1 coverage as possible landing spots (PlanetF1 (F1 news outlet)).
  • The Ford ambassador role announced in September 2025 gives him a motorsport footprint without a race seat (PlanetF1 (F1 news outlet))

A racing return remains the question fans actually care about. The practical answer is that competitive seats are not handed out on nostalgia. Ricciardo’s next move may depend less on desire than on which manufacturer wants his face on a car. The pattern: he is doing what veteran drivers do when the calendar empties — keeping every door open while building the brand that outlasts the racing.

Is Max Verstappen Still Friends with Daniel Ricciardo?

The friendliest rivalry of the hybrid era has aged well. The two were Red Bull teammates during Ricciardo’s peak seasons, and the respect they built on track has survived both of their career shifts.

The Origin of Their Friendship at Red Bull

  • Honda Global’s driver archive places Ricciardo at Red Bull from 2014 to 2018 (Honda Global (official driver archive))
  • Their dynamic became one of the paddock’s few genuinely warm storylines.

The friendship worked because the two were opposites who understood each other. Ricciardo was the joker who raced on instinct; Verstappen was the machine who chased perfection. Together, they produced some of Red Bull’s most competitive years — and a bond that outlasted the teammate pairing.

Recent Public Appearances and Social Media Interactions

  • After Ricciardo’s exit, the friendship stayed visible through social-media exchanges and race-weekend appearances (PlanetF1 (F1 news outlet)).
  • Post-F1 coverage, including PlanetF1’s retrospective, has kept the two drivers’ bond part of the story (PlanetF1 (F1 news outlet))

The pattern: friendships in F1 usually dissolve with the teammate pairing. This one has outlasted the cars, the teams, and the era — and it remains one of the only warm endings in an otherwise cold business.

What Happened with Daniel Ricciardo?

Ricciardo’s career reads best in three acts: a Red Bull rise, a McLaren gamble, and a final comeback that ran out of road.

The Peak at Red Bull (2014-2018)

Seven of his eight career wins came in those five Red Bull seasons. That run made him, for a stretch, the most dangerous non-Mercedes driver on the grid — and the most convincing proof that the hybrid era could still be won on pure instinct.

The Stint at McLaren (2021-2022)

Monza 2021 was the high point — a win in papaya, a shoey on the podium, and proof that he could still beat the best on a given Sunday. The follow-up never came. Ricciardo left McLaren at the end of 2022 and spent part of 2023 as Red Bull’s reserve driver before a mid-season return.

The Return and Final Exit (2023-2024)

The comeback chapter read like a redemption script until it didn’t. Ricciardo’s 2024 season produced 12 points from 18 starts, and when Red Bull’s leadership had to choose, it chose Lawson. His final race weekend was Singapore — where he set the fastest lap but, according to Evening Ledger’s career records, finished 18th.

Bottom line: Ricciardo’s career was a story of peaks and precipices: eight wins, a failed McLaren gamble, and a comeback that lasted 18 races. For Red Bull, the final verdict was rational; for fans, it was the end of an era.

The result: a farewell that never happened, and a legacy that no longer needs one.

Is Daniel Ricciardo Single Now?

Public answer: Ricciardo keeps that side of his life off the record. He has not confirmed a current partner, and he has consistently kept relationship details private during and after his F1 career.

Current Relationship Status

  • He has been linked to partners over the years, but he rarely officially confirms or denies anything.
  • His public presence — race appearances, ambassador work, travel — stays focused on racing and lifestyle, not personal relationships.

There is no verified “single” or “taken” status in public records, because that is precisely how he wants it. Ricciardo has learned that a polished silence beats a headline.

Approach to Privacy in the Public Eye

  • Few drivers manage the line between public persona and private life as deliberately as Ricciardo.
  • The same charm he deploys on camera disappears when questions turn personal.

The pattern: Ricciardo sells his personality, not his personal life. The two are different products, and he has kept them separate for his entire career.

Timeline signal

Seven dates, one trajectory: a slow rise, a steep peak, and an exit that took less than a season. The record follows Honda Global (official driver archive) and StatsF1 (race statistics database), with race-by-race moves sourced to the reporting cited above.

Date Event
Born in Perth, Australia.
F1 debut with HRT.
2014–2018 Red Bull Racing — seven of his eight career wins.
2019–2020 Renault midfield return.
2021–2022 McLaren — win at Monza in 2021, his eighth and last.
2023 AlphaTauri return, replacing Nyck de Vries.
2024 Replaced by Liam Lawson after Singapore; F1 career ends.

The timeline’s lesson: years build a career, and a single driver swap erases it from the grid.

Confirmed Facts and What’s Unclear

Confirmed facts

What’s unclear

  • Whether he will formally retire from motorsport.
  • Which racing series, if any, he will join next.
  • His current relationship status — he keeps personal life private.
  • Whether “I’m done” closes the door on every F1 return, or only a Cadillac seat (PlanetF1 (F1 news outlet))
  • How the Ford ambassador role will coexist with any future racing commitments (PlanetF1 (F1 news outlet)).

The asymmetry is the story: everything about Ricciardo’s past is documented, and almost everything about his future is open. That gap is exactly why the speculation keeps following him.

Editor’s note

This article separates documented career facts — sourced to StatsF1, Honda Global’s driver archive, and The Athletic — from speculative claims about Ricciardo’s future. Net-worth figures circulate online, but none are verified or audited, so they are not treated as facts here.

What this means: the documented record is closed on Ricciardo’s past; his future remains the open question that keeps the story moving.

Key quotes

“I’m done.”

— Daniel Ricciardo, December 2024, on a possible Cadillac F1 seat, quoted by PlanetF1 (F1 news outlet)

“A further F1 comeback or reserve-driver role appeared unlikely.”

— The Athletic’s assessment of Ricciardo’s 2024 departure, via The Athletic (sports news outlet)

Between them, the two quotes frame the exit: Ricciardo closed the door himself, and the reporting confirmed there was no door left to open.

Where Ricciardo Stands Now

Ricciardo’s F1 chapter is written, but the book is not. Eight wins, 32 podiums, and a decade of personality made him one of the most recognizable athletes in motorsport, and the Ford ambassador role gives him a platform that most retired drivers would envy. For Red Bull, the Lawson decision was rational by every measurable metric. For fans, the loss is simpler: the grid just got quieter. For Ricciardo, the implication is clear — either the ambassador role and a possible racing return become a genuine second act, or the Honey Badger becomes a nostalgia act.

Related reading

The two companion reads follow the same shape: a career documented in numbers and a future that no number can settle.

Additional sources

deltaf1.com, en.wikipedia.org

Frequently asked questions

What is Daniel Ricciardo’s net worth?

Ricciardo has never published a verified net-worth figure, and numbers circulating online are estimates, not audited records. What is documented is his career path through six F1 teams, plus post-F1 work including the Ford ambassador role announced in September 2025 (PlanetF1 (F1 news outlet)).

How many F1 races did Daniel Ricciardo win?

Eight. His first win came at the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix, and his last at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix with McLaren, per StatsF1 (race statistics database).

Why is Daniel Ricciardo called the Honey Badger?

The nickname came from his racing style — aggressive, tenacious, and impossible to discourage — and it became his personal brand across his F1 career.

What F1 teams has Daniel Ricciardo driven for?

Six: HRT, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Renault, McLaren, and AlphaTauri/RB, per Honda Global (official driver archive).

What is the shoey tradition in F1?

The shoey is Ricciardo’s post-race ritual: he takes off a racing boot, pours champagne into it, and drinks from it at podiums. It became one of the most recognized celebrations on the grid.

Is Daniel Ricciardo an F1 champion?

No. His best championship finish was third place in 2014, when he won three races with Red Bull, per Honda Global (official driver archive).

The answers above lean on documented race records; the uncertainty surrounding Ricciardo’s next move is the only part without a source.



Oliver Jack Carter Cooper
Oliver Jack Carter CooperStaff Writer

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.