Few drivers have carried a nickname as fittingly as Daniel Ricciardo’s “Honey Badger” — cheeky and fearless, with a grin that made him hard to ignore. The Australian left the Formula 1 grid in 2024, and the question everyone’s asking is what comes next.
Born: 1 July 1989 ·
Nationality: Australian ·
F1 Seasons: 2011–2024 ·
Race Wins: 8 ·
Podiums: 32 ·
Last F1 Race: 2024 Singapore Grand Prix
Quick snapshot
- Returned to AlphaTauri from the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix and raced through 2024 (Honda Global’s F1 driver page)
- Left RB mid-2024; Liam Lawson took his seat (Fox Sports Australia’s confirmation report)
- Final career win: 2021 Italian Grand Prix with McLaren (Evening Ledger’s career recap)
- Exact net worth — estimates exist, but no official figure (Evening Ledger’s net-worth recap)
- Whether a non-driving F1 return happens (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile)
- Whether the exit counts as a retirement or a seat loss (Sporting News’ F1 coverage)
- Final F1 race: 2024 Singapore Grand Prix (F1Maximaal’s race coverage)
- Final career win: 2021 Italian Grand Prix with McLaren (Evening Ledger’s career recap)
- Co-founded a tailgate business with Dabble (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile)
- Stays visible on social media and around F1 race weekends (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile)
The pattern: the snapshot shows a driver whose confirmed achievements are clear, but whose future direction remains open.
Ten facts, one pattern: Ricciardo’s numbers were elite, but his personality always traveled further than his results.
| Category | Detail | Verified in |
|---|---|---|
| Full Name | Daniel Joseph Ricciardo | — |
| Date of Birth | 1 July 1989 | Wikipedia’s Ricciardo biography |
| Place of Birth | Perth, Western Australia | — |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | Evening Ledger’s career recap |
| Nationality | Australian | — |
| Teams | HRT, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Renault, McLaren, RB | — |
| Race Wins | 8 | ESPN’s F1 statistics page |
| Podiums | 32 | StatsF1’s season records |
| Pole Positions | 3 | Evening Ledger’s career recap |
| Nickname | Honey Badger | — |
What has happened to Daniel Ricciardo?
Ricciardo was a fixture on the grid for more than a decade, but the car underneath him kept changing. The short version of 2024 is brutal: he started the year with RB, the Red Bull junior team, and ended it watching from the sidelines.
What is Daniel Ricciardo’s career timeline?
- Climbed from an HRT debut into a Toro Rosso seat before Red Bull promoted him (Evening Ledger’s career overview)
- The Red Bull years delivered his peak results, including a breakthrough triple-win season and a title fight that put him third overall (Evening Ledger’s career recap)
- Renault and McLaren followed, before a late return to the Red Bull family ended his time on the grid (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile)
- 2023–2024: a comeback with AlphaTauri and RB that began at the Hungarian Grand Prix (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile)
The shape of that career is unusual: elite results early, then a long middle section spent changing teams. What never changed was the public’s affection for him.
What teams did Daniel Ricciardo drive for?
- HRT (2011) (Evening Ledger’s career recap)
- Toro Rosso (2012–2013) (Evening Ledger’s career recap)
- Red Bull Racing (2014–2018) (Evening Ledger’s career recap)
- Renault (2019–2020) (Evening Ledger’s career recap)
- McLaren (2021–2022) (Evening Ledger’s career recap)
- AlphaTauri / RB (2023–2024) (Evening Ledger’s career recap)
That route — six teams in 14 seasons — is the kind of career arc that rarely ends quietly. The pattern: Ricciardo’s most-celebrated years came early, and his final seasons became a long fight for points in machinery that couldn’t match his talent.
Why did Daniel Ricciardo leave F1?
The short answer is that his seat disappeared. The longer answer is a story about team decisions, timing, and a driver who never got to choose his own exit.
Was Ricciardo forced out of his seat?
RB confirmed Ricciardo’s exit before the 2024 season ended and installed Liam Lawson in his seat — a team decision, not a driver’s farewell tour (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile).
The timing left little room for sentiment. Ricciardo’s final race was the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, per F1Maximaal’s contemporary coverage — and the announcement that his seat was gone followed almost immediately.
Did Ricciardo choose to retire?
- Sporting News found no formal retirement statement from Ricciardo when he left RB. (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile)
- His goodbye came through a social post describing a “wild and wonderful” journey and ending with “Until the next adventure.” (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile)
That distinction matters. “Retired” is the clean label; “out of a seat” is the messier truth, and it’s why the comeback conversation never really died. The implication: RB’s decision ended Ricciardo’s driving career on someone else’s schedule — a rare loss of control for a driver who built his brand on it.
What is Ricciardo doing now?
Life after the cockpit has been busy. Ricciardo has turned his attention to projects that don’t depend on lap times.
Is Ricciardo starting a business?
- Co-founded a tailgate business with Dabble (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile)
- Keeps his Enchante apparel and merchandise line in the portfolio (Evening Ledger’s career recap)
None of these ventures is a Ferrari-shaped trophy. Together, they look like a deliberate attempt to build income that survives retirement.
Does Ricciardo still appear at F1 events?
- Hasn’t ruled out a return in a non-driving role, per our what-happened-next profile
- Stays visible on social media around race weekends, keeping the fan base engaged (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile)
His value to F1 was never just points. Broadcasters and sponsors know the camera finds him. Why this matters: Ricciardo’s earning power now depends on personality, not pace — and personality holds up better in retirement.
Is Max Verstappen still friends with Daniel Ricciardo?
Few teammates in modern F1 stayed as close after a split as these two.
How did Ricciardo and Verstappen become friends?
- They were Red Bull teammates from 2016 to 2018 (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile)
- The friendship outlasted the pairing; both have described it as genuine close friendship since (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile)
The public evidence is consistent: podium celebrations, social posts, and interviews all point the same way.
Have they been seen together lately?
The Verstappen–Ricciardo friendship runs against F1’s usual flow: one driver’s exit usually cools the bond, but this pair kept showing up for each other publicly.
For sponsors, that friendship is gold — it keeps Ricciardo in the winner’s orbit even when he’s not on the grid. The takeaway: the friendship is real, visible, and commercially useful to both brands.
What is Daniel Ricciardo’s net worth in 2026?
Ricciardo never published his bank account, and no official figure exists. What we have is estimates and reporting.
What was Ricciardo’s F1 salary?
- His highest reported salary was around $10 million per year at Red Bull (Evening Ledger’s retirement-and-career recap)
- Driving income stopped after 2024; current income comes from endorsements and business projects (Evening Ledger’s career recap)
The exact numbers always stayed private, but the direction is clear: a race contract was once his main income; it no longer is.
How has his wealth changed after retirement?
- Most estimates place his net worth between $30 million and $40 million, with no official confirmation (Evening Ledger’s net-worth recap)
- The Enchante line, the Dabble venture, and appearance work all extend his earning years (Evening Ledger’s career recap)
Ricciardo’s wealth no longer depends on a car’s pace; it depends on how long the Honey Badger persona stays commercially warm. The tailgate and apparel bets are the real post-F1 portfolio.
The trade-off: staying out of a race seat protects the brand better than another season at the back of the grid would.
Ricciardo’s F1 career, year by year
Seven entries, one pattern: a fast rise, a long plateau, and a sudden stop — a route pinned down by F1Maximaal’s race coverage.
| Period | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2011–2013 | F1 debut with HRT, then moves to Toro Rosso |
| 2014 | Joins Red Bull; first win at the Canadian Grand Prix; third in the drivers’ standings |
| 2016–2018 | Teammates with Max Verstappen |
| 2018 | Two wins in his final Red Bull season, including Monaco |
| 2019–2022 | Renault, then McLaren; fifth in the 2020 standings and victory at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix |
| 2023 | Red Bull reserve, then AlphaTauri from the Hungarian Grand Prix |
| 2024 | Final season with RB; exit after the Singapore Grand Prix |
What this means: the timeline shows a driver who won whenever the car allowed it and then spent years waiting for a car that never came.
Confirmed facts and lingering questions
Confirmed facts
- Liam Lawson took Ricciardo’s RB seat before the 2024 season ended (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile)
- Ricciardo raced for RB, the Red Bull junior team, in 2024 (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile)
- His career record — eight wins and 32 podiums — is on ESPN’s F1 statistics page (Evening Ledger’s career recap)
What’s unclear
- Exact net worth — estimates sit in the $30–40 million range, but there’s no official figure (Evening Ledger’s net-worth recap)
- Whether a non-driving F1 return actually happens (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile)
- Whether the exit counts as a retirement or a seat loss (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile)
The pattern: the confirmed facts outnumber the uncertainties, but the uncertainties carry more weight for his future.
Ricciardo and Verstappen, in their own words
“Until the next adventure.”
Daniel Ricciardo, in his farewell message after leaving RB (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile)
“He’s a great friend.”
Max Verstappen on Daniel Ricciardo (Evening Ledger’s what-happened-next profile)
What this means: the public statements from both drivers confirm a bond that remains intact despite the change in their professional relationship.
The takeaway
Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 story closed with a farewell that promised “the next adventure” — even as the seat was taken before he’d left it. What he does with that opening matters beyond his own brand: teams chasing younger drivers are betting that star power can be replaced, while he keeps collecting reasons to say yes to the next commercial chapter. For sponsors, the choice is clear: keep paying for Daniel Ricciardo the personality, or wait for someone new to prove they can move tickets the way he still does.
Frequently asked questions
Is Daniel Ricciardo single now?
Ricciardo hasn’t publicly confirmed a current partner, and his private life stayed out of the spotlight after he left F1. As of early 2026, there’s no verified public record either way.
Does Daniel Ricciardo come from a wealthy family?
No verified reporting ties Ricciardo’s F1 start to family money. His wealth is built from race contracts, endorsements, and his own brands — the details of which are covered in the key facts and net-worth sections above.
What is Daniel Ricciardo’s annual salary?
His highest reported salary was around $10 million per year at Red Bull. After leaving the grid in 2024, he no longer earns a race-driver salary; his income comes from brand work and ventures.
Who has the richest parent in F1?
Formula 1 doesn’t publish family wealth, so any answer comes from media estimates rather than official records. In Ricciardo’s case, nothing in the available record connects his path to inherited money.
What is the shoey tradition?
The shoey is a post-race celebration where a driver drinks from a racing boot. Ricciardo turned it into a signature ritual in Formula 1 after his early wins, and it followed him throughout his career.
How tall is Daniel Ricciardo?
Ricciardo is 1.78 m tall — about 5 ft 10 in — as listed in the key facts table above.
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.