Daniel Ricciardo stressed that his new Red Bull gig is not "a race drive" as he opened up more on his return to his old team.
One of the worst kept secrets in the Formula 1 paddock was confirmed this week when Red Bull confirmed the Aussie had signed as the team's third driver for the 2023 season. Mirror Sport reported in October that talks had been held between the former McLaren racer and the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
And Helmut Marko prematurely told the F1 world that a deal had been agreed, before pen had actually been put to paper. But Ricciardo did sign on anyway – happy to stay close to the sport so he can get back on the grid in the future, but also keen to get the chance to spend some time away from the paddock.
"To make things crystal clear, I’m still not on the grid next year," the 33-year-old told Speedcafe. "But look, it's certainly a way to still stay involved and to give me the time necessary to take a back step. And that's been no secret to myself.
"As the second half of the season went on, I just needed to step away for a bit, rebuild myself, reset a bit, and also just find the intense love for it. Because, at this level, if you don't have that, then I'm not doing justice for myself or anyone around me. I'm not saying I've lost it, but I’m in fear of losing it.
"Obviously a race drive is the best thing if I want to stay, you know, that's the surest thing. It just became more and more clear that I couldn't be doing 24 races next year – it just wasn't going to be the right thing for me. I think it would have just probably worn me out more than anything and it's at a point where I just felt a little exhausted, where I just needed to slow my year down."
F1 drivers travel the world throughout the season to race cars – an idyllic lifestyle on the surface, but with it comes a lot of jetlag, the gut-wrenching ache of missing family and friends and plenty of media commitments. The Covid pandemic only exacerbated the issue for many, including Ricciardo who was without the support network upon which he had become reliant.
That was "definitely" a major factor in his decision to accept a role which does not require quite so much travel in 2023, says Ricciardo. He added: "Especially when you get to the top of your sport, you want to think that you're awesome, invincible, just something really, really special. But I think the fact is that at some level, we're all still human and we all still feel a little bit of pain or sadness, or whatever it is – emotion.
"I certainly felt these things the last couple of years, going through the highs and lows, and then with Covid, not seeing friends and family as often. So it all kind of just builds up to a point where I was like 'Okay, maybe it's best to just get a few things back in my life' – a bit more family time, bit more friends, and a bit more time for myself as well."
