Daniel Ricciardo opens up on F1 'hurt'

Former F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo has admitted there were a number of days during his career when he only felt “hurt”.

The Australian added that the low moments would leave him feeling uninterested in the sport.

Ricciardo enjoyed F1 success with Red Bull during his time with the team, winning seven races with the squad.

Although he managed to pick up another win with McLaren, his results were largely in decline, and after a short stint with AlphaTauri across 2023 and 2024, Ricciardo's time in F1 came to a close.

Ricciardo does not take his F1 success for granted, but insists they are more obvious than the days of frustration.

“I'm always a little bit hesitant to talk about the disappointments, the lows, the tough days,” Ricciardo told Drive with Jim Farley.

“People see a lot of the good and yes, it, it gives you a lot as well. I don't want to dismiss that.

“But what goes up must come down. There are a lot of days that hurt. There are a lot of days when you're frustrated.

“There's so much that's out of your control, and of course, I'll take accountability when I can.

“But there are days that just hurt and suck. I was one of the lucky ones. I was able to win races in F1. I won eight races, but I entered over 250.

“I don't know what that works out in percentage, but it's a pretty low percentage of success rate. 

“I compare it to a team sport, for example, maybe their record is 50 per cent - probably better, a lot of teams.”

However, Ricciardo asserted the desire to once again experience a sporting high kept him going through difficult patches.

“The good days, or the real good days, are far and few between,” he said. “But there's something about it that just keeps bringing you back.

“It makes the highs higher, because you don't win every day and you appreciate it when you do. 

“But there were days when I was very uninterested. I can tell you numerous occasions where I thought [I'm done].”