Daniel Ricciardo names 1 driver he takes inspiration from if he has to extend his sabbatical for another year
Daniel Ricciardo has stated that he takes inspiration from Nico Hulkenberg if he has to sit out another year from F1.
Ricciardo opted to take a sabbatical this season after losing his seat at McLaren last year. There were options on the table as Haas team principal Guenther Steiner approached the Australian, but Ricciardo refused to take the seat for 2024.
Since then, Daniel Ricciardo has been part of Red Bull as a reserve driver. He has done a lot of marketing stuff for the team and has been working extensively in the simulator.
While he has been linked with a seat to AlphaTauri to replace Nyck de Vries, Ricciardo remains open-minded for a scenario where he has to sit out next year as well.
Talking to Crash.net, Daniel Ricciardo explained that he took inspiration from drivers like Nico Hulkenberg, who had been away for multiple years. He also finds Fernando Alonso inspiring because of the Spaniard's level of performance despite being 41 years old.
Ricciardo said about the possibility of him coming back next year:
"I’d love to get back on the grid next year. If things didn’t turn out the way I’d like and I’m on the sidelines again next year, it’s not my Plan A but I wouldn’t freak out. I look at [Nico] Hulkenberg, who's been on the sidelines a few years - obviously done the odd race here and there - but he’s been pretty awesome this year. So I’m not concerned that I’ll ‘lose it’."
He added:
“Obviously, I’m not getting younger though, so I don’t want to miss too much. Because I also don’t want to be [Fernando] Alonso and in my forties doing it. But I look at him and I’m like ‘well if you are that good still, maybe I [would] still want to do it!’ But let’s see. If the team is like ‘well you can sit out next year and you have a seat for the year after’ I’d be like ‘alright sweet, of course I’ll sit out’. But I’d love to race.”
Daniel Ricciardo is confident of a return to the grid next season
Keeping the speculation aside, Daniel Ricciardo sounded confident about returning to the grid next season.
When asked about the possibilities of a return next season, he replied:
“I’m pretty confident. I don’t want to be too confident because I’ve never seen a contract and don’t have pen-on-paper or anything. So I can’t be like ‘yeah I’m definitely on it’. But if you were like gun to head, you have to say yes or no, my answer is yes as opposed to no. I have a bit more confidence that I will be than I won’t be.”
Ricciardo was a true superstar on the F1 grid as long as he was part of it. It will be interesting to see how he does if he returns to the grid in the future.