Daniel Ricciardo has opened up on how he coped with his exit from F1 two years ago.
Following the Singapore Grand Prix in 2024, Racing Bulls confirmed that Liam Lawson would replace Ricciardo for the remainder of the campaign.
It marked Ricciardo's last race as an F1 driver, bringing an end to his 13-year stint in the sport that saw him win eight grands prix.
Ricciardo slipped away from public view after his departure and returned home to Australia to attend to personal matters he had little time for while navigating the F1 schedule.
However, the 37-year-old admitted he struggled to come to terms with the reality of the situation.
"The first phase straight after Singapore, it was still trying to stay tall and strong," Ricciardo told the Beyond the Grid podcast.
"It's like a coping mechanism, or trying to outwardly project that I'm fine, it's all good, ultimately hiding from a feeling of humiliation.
"That was the first phase of just thinking everything was okay. But obviously, I was very, very hurt inside."
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Ricciardo grateful Red Bull 'pulled the trigger' on F1 career
Ricciardo's most successful stint in F1 came during his time at Red Bull from 2014 to 2018.
High-reaching results were much harder to come by after he left the team, and he went through a particularly difficult period with McLaren before his final stint with the Red Bull sister squad.
The Australian admitted he feels grateful that Red Bull made the decision for him, to save him from further agony.
"I can tell you right now, in Monaco, 2022, after the race, I'm sitting in my apartment talking to my team, and I was like, 'I don't want to do this anymore'.
"There are moments where I've wanted to just get away from it, but the reality is, you have people around you that tell you 'you're great, you can still do it'.
"You end up also believing a lot of these voices. I know they don't mean harm, but you don't really get a chance to have your own thoughts much.
"I still don't like how it ended, but there's also a part of me which is grateful that they pulled the trigger.
"I wouldn't want to be doing it now."
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