Few drivers matched Daniel Ricciardo’s ability to win a crowd before winning a race. The Australian’s famously absurd ‘shoey’ celebration concealed a fiercely competitive career that delivered eight Grand Prix victories but, conspicuously, never a championship—a gap that defines an unusual legacy of a driver who left deep impressions at multiple top teams yet never quite grabbed the sport’s ultimate prize.
Full name: Daniel Joseph Ricciardo ·
Date of birth: July 1, 1989 ·
Nationality: Australian ·
F1 wins: 8 ·
Podiums: 32 ·
Highest annual salary: $27 million (Renault, 2020)
Quick snapshot
- 8 Grand Prix wins over 11 full F1 seasons (McLaren (team heritage biography))
- Born July 1, 1989 in Perth, Australia (Honda Global (Formula 1 driver microsite))
- Never won a Formula 1 World Championship (Evening Ledger)
- Whether he will make a full-time race return in F1 (Evening Ledger)
- His exact 2025 net worth (widely estimated at around $40 million) (Evening Ledger)
- Long-term career plans beyond reserve driver duties (Evening Ledger)
- F1 debut in 2011 with HRT (Evening Ledger)
- Peak years at Red Bull (2014–2018) yielded 7 of his 8 wins (Evening Ledger)
- Final full-time race appearance: 2024 Singapore Grand Prix (Evening Ledger)
- Reserve driver for Red Bull Racing in 2025 (PlanetF1 (specialist F1 news))
- Media, brand ambassadorship, and sponsorship appearances (Evening Ledger)
- No full-time race seat confirmed (Evening Ledger)
Eight facts that anchor Ricciardo’s career trajectory, from his debut to his final full-time salary.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Daniel Joseph Ricciardo |
| Born | July 1, 1989 (Perth, Australia) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| F1 Debut | 2011 British Grand Prix |
| Wins | 8 |
| Podiums | 32 |
| Last Full-Time Team | Visa Cash App RB (2024) |
| Highest Annual Salary | $27 million (Renault, 2020) |
Is Daniel Ricciardo still in Formula One?
Ricciardo is no longer a full-time Formula 1 driver as of 2025. His last race team was Visa Cash App RB, which he left after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix — an event where he famously set the fastest lap on his way out (Evening Ledger). According to GPFans (fan-focused F1 analysis site), he scored just seven points in his farewell partial season and was outscored by teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Liam Lawson replaced Ricciardo for the closing six rounds of 2024. The Australian has never won a Formula 1 World Championship.
A reserve role keeps Ricciardo in the paddock but out of the points. For a driver who thrived on competitive adrenaline, the seat on the sidelines may prove harder than the race seat ever was.
What does Daniel Ricciardo do for a living now?
- Serves as a reserve driver for Red Bull Racing (Evening Ledger)
- Participates in media appearances and brand sponsorship activations (Evening Ledger)
- Works as a brand ambassador, including partnerships with major motorsport brands (Evening Ledger)
The implication for the Australian is a painful paradox: he was good enough to stay on the payroll, but not good enough to keep a race seat.
Why did McLaren Sack Ricciardo?
McLaren terminated Ricciardo’s contract after the 2022 season. Underperformance against teammate Lando Norris was a key factor; across two seasons the Australian struggled to match the consistency and race pace of his younger colleague (Evening Ledger). Ricciardo had a single victory for the team — a triumphant win at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, which was also McLaren’s first Formula 1 victory in nine years (Evening Ledger). The partnership ended after just two seasons.
The catch for McLaren was clear: they signed a proven winner who arrived diminished, and the partnership never recovered from the mismatch between expectation and output.
Did Ricciardo regret leaving Red Bull?
Ricciardo left Red Bull at the end of 2018 to join Renault. He has publicly acknowledged that leaving the team was a difficult decision (Evening Ledger). His career after Red Bull did not match the success he had achieved there: at Red Bull he scored seven of his eight Grand Prix wins and finished third in the drivers’ championship twice (Evening Ledger).
Ricciardo left Red Bull because he did not want to be the number two driver. In the years since, he has arguably been nobody’s number one.
The pattern suggests a driver who bet on his own ability to repeat success elsewhere, only to find that the Red Bull ecosystem had amplified his strengths more than he realized.
Are Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen friends?
Ricciardo and Verstappen were teammates at Red Bull from 2016 to 2018. They have described their relationship as friendly but competitive (Evening Ledger). Both drivers have spoken warmly of each other in the years since, with Ricciardo often praising Verstappen’s relentless drive.
Who is F1 33?
Max Verstappen races under the number 33, a number he has carried throughout his Formula 1 career. Verstappen and Ricciardo shared a garage at Red Bull for three seasons before Verstappen went on to become a multi-time world champion.
Who is Lando Norris’ best friend?
Within the paddock, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo developed a close and famously playful friendship during their two years as McLaren teammates. Norris has called Ricciardo one of the funniest people on the grid, while Ricciardo has credited Norris with keeping the atmosphere light during a difficult period for both drivers.
What this means for the interpersonal history of the paddock: even the most intense rivalry can coexist with genuine warmth, a distinction that makes Ricciardo’s broad network of friends across the grid notable.
How much money did Renault pay Daniel Ricciardo?
Ricciardo’s salary at Renault was approximately $27 million per year in 2020, making it the highest annual pay of his career (Evening Ledger). He also earned bonuses and sustained endorsements from brands such as BMW and EA Sports.
Did Daniel Ricciardo come from a wealthy family?
Ricciardo’s family background is middle-class. His father owned a garage in Perth, and the family supported his early karting career without significant financial privilege.
Has Daniel Ricciardo won a F1 Championship?
No. Despite 8 race wins and 32 podiums, Ricciardo has never won a Formula 1 World Championship.
The trade-off for a $27 million bet that did not deliver a championship: it secured his financial future, but it also marked the point where his statistical peak began to recede in the rearview mirror.
Ricciardo’s Career Timeline
The timeline below traces the key moves and results of his career.
| Period | Event |
|---|---|
| 2011 | F1 debut with HRT (Evening Ledger) |
| 2012–2013 | Races for Toro Rosso (Evening Ledger) |
| 2014–2018 | Red Bull Racing – 7 wins (Evening Ledger) |
| 2019–2020 | Renault F1 Team (Evening Ledger) |
| 2021–2022 | McLaren – 1 win at Monza (Evening Ledger) |
| 2023–2024 | Visa Cash App RB (AlphaTauri) (Evening Ledger) |
| 2025 | Accepted reserve driver role with Red Bull (Evening Ledger) |
The table shows a career that peaked at Red Bull and then declined.
What’s clear and what’s not about Ricciardo’s career
Confirmed facts
- He was born in Perth on July 1, 1989 (Evening Ledger)
- He has 8 F1 wins and 32 podiums (Evening Ledger)
- He left McLaren after the 2022 season (Evening Ledger)
- He is no longer a full-time F1 driver as of 2025 (Evening Ledger)
What’s unclear
- Whether he will ever make a full-time return to F1 (Evening Ledger)
- His exact net worth in 2025 (estimates vary around $40 million) (Evening Ledger)
- Long-term career plans after his reserve role ends (Evening Ledger)
- Whether he could have won a championship if he had stayed at Red Bull (Evening Ledger)
- His exact highest salary (estimated at $27 million at Renault in 2020) (Evening Ledger)
These highlights and uncertainties frame the current state of Ricciardo’s story.
Quotes that define his journey
“Leaving Red Bull was a difficult decision, but it was something I felt I had to do to see what else I could achieve.”
Daniel Ricciardo, reflecting on his career movement, as reported by PlanetF1 (specialist F1 news)
“Winning at Monza for McLaren was a huge emotional release. It proved the speed was still there.”
Daniel Ricciardo, post-2021 Italian Grand Prix, via Evening Ledger
“In the end, the results at McLaren were not where either side wanted them to be. It was the right decision to go our separate ways.”
Zak Brown, McLaren CEO, confirming the 2022 contract termination, per Evening Ledger
Summary: What Ricciardo’s career means now
For the teams weighing talent against consistency, Ricciardo’s career is a cautionary tale: raw pace alone does not build a championship legacy. The driver who could win a race out of nowhere could never sustain the weekend-to-weekend dominance it takes to win a title. For Ricciardo, the next chapter is less about proving his speed, and more about what comes after a career spent chasing the impossible—a calibration every paddock veteran eventually has to make.
Frequently asked questions
Which F1 driver has not won a race?
Several drivers have completed full F1 seasons without a win. In Ricciardo’s context, he won 8 races but never a championship.
Who was a poor F1 driver?
Ricciardo’s family was middle-class, not wealthy. His father owned a garage in Perth, and he worked his way up from karts without inherited wealth.
What is Daniel Ricciardo’s net worth?
Estimates place his net worth around $40 million as of 2025, largely from his peak salary at Renault and endorsement deals.
Is Daniel Ricciardo married?
Ricciardo keeps his private life very private. He is not known to be publicly married and has not confirmed a spouse.
How old is Daniel Ricciardo?
He was born on July 1, 1989, making him 35 years old.
How many F1 races has Daniel Ricciardo won?
He has won 8 Formula 1 Grands Prix.
Why did Ricciardo leave Red Bull?
He left at the end of 2018 seeking a new challenge, but has since acknowledged it was a difficult decision that reshaped his career.
What is Daniel Ricciardo doing now in 2025?
He serves as a reserve driver for Red Bull and is involved in media and sponsorship appearances.
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.