Daniel Ricciardo says he isn’t “arrogant” to target a comeback with a frontrunning team despite a lack of competitive seats on the driver market.
Ricciardo is four months into his sabbatical season after parting ways with McLaren one year early and has already said that “the signs are pointing towards” him wanting to make an F1 return next year rather than call quits on his career.
But the eight-time grand prix winner has put strict conditions on any possible new deal, saying that he wants to sign for a team with the potential to score podiums and victories rather than one battling for minor points further down the grid.
As explained here, the stipulation complicates matters considerably, with only Lewis Hamilton and potentially George Russell out of contract among the top four teams, though Mercedes is expected to retain both next season.
But in an interview quoted by Top Gear, Ricciardo said the lack of options matching his criteria didn’t concern him.
“It doesn’t scare me,” he said. “It’s always been like that. And I knew this was going to be a risk, obviously removing myself from a seat.
“But I think it’s clear what I don’t want. I don’t want [just] any seat next year, as much as I think I want to be racing again. I don’t want to just start from zero and kind of build my [F1] career from scratch.”
Ricciardo said that his decision to rule out a midfield return was based on his level of experience rather than an inflated sense of self-worth.
“It’s not coming from an arrogant place,” he said. “But I’m just past that. I don’t think that’s going to stimulate me or give me that second wind I’m looking for.
“So it makes the top seats even scarcer. But that’s where I know I will be able to perform at my best and thrive. That’s the sort of stuff I’m keeping my eyes on.”
Ricciardo is clearly in a happier place as Red Bull Racing’s third driver this season after two demoralising years at McLaren, where a difficult-to-drive car left him vulnerable to a pummelling from teammate Lando Norris.
The West Australian has been effusive about his return to Milton Keynes, where he established his reputation as one of the sport’s fiercest competitors, and said the familiar surroundings were helping him rebuild his confidence.
“I was definitely excited to come back,” he said. “I felt like everyone was excited for me to come back and it was kind of like open arms.
“But I didn’t expect everyone that I used to work with to be as kind of high [about it] as I am. I think it’s cool.
“The first day back at Red Bull in the simulator was the most fun I’ve ever had driving a simulator, which is crazy, especially because at this point in my career that’s normally the boring work.
“But Simon (Rennie), my engineer at the time at Red Bull, he’s running the sim now, so it was like we were back in the routine of 2018 and, mate, I loved it.
“It took me a few laps to get going, and once I did, it all felt familiar again.
“I would honestly say in a day my confidence went from being probably pretty low to back at the levels I remember being at. It was a good day.
“I think just having that time off [also] just gave me a chance to, in a way, forget a little bit of the last two years. Just go in there with a fresh mind.”
The 33-year-old had left Red Bull Racing unexpectedly at the end of 2018, plunging the team into something of a driver line-up crisis it’s only just begun to solve with the external recruitment of veteran Sergio Pérez, but Ricciardo said the split was water under the bridge for both parties.
“I’ve moved on, I’ve matured, I’ve lived and learned,” he said. “I’ve kind of grown through it all, and I feel everyone else has as well.
“There’s kind of no carry-over of 2018 or whatever choice I made back then.
“I don’t even want to say we’re starting from fresh, because it just feels like we’re picking it up where we left off. And it’s been really good, so I’m happy.”
