F1 News: Daniel Ricciardo In Different State Of Mind - "Not Carrying Weight Of The World"
Reflecting on his return to full-time Formula 1 racing with AlphaTauri, Daniel Ricciardo expressed that he is now in the "second phase" of his career, where he has the autonomy to define his own success, admitting that he isn't "carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders".
This opportunity arose following his reserve driver role at Red Bull and a previous full-time stint with McLaren. His return was facilitated by Nyck De Vries' departure from AlphaTauri due to a lack of points scored, opening the door for Ricciardo's re-entry into Formula 1.
Regrettably, Daniel Ricciardo's racing career faced a temporary setback when he suffered a hand injury in an accident. This incident necessitated surgery and therapy, sidelining him from five Grand Prix events.
Amidst this challenge, Ricciardo recalls the Mexican Grand Prix as a highlight of his 2023 season, where he felt his performance coalescing. He shared these reflections during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, highlighting Mexico as a significant moment in his comeback journey:
“A weekend like Mexico, that's a weekend where I felt everything I needed to feel again.
“Obviously the team was very happy, everyone was happy, and those things help kind of everything moving forward.
“To put the car in a position where people don't expect to see that car, that's stuff that excites you, and the fourth [in Mexico] felt like a pole, because it felt like the AlphaTauri this year had no [right] to be on the second row of the grid. It just didn't ever look like that, so that sort of stuff gets me excited, definitely gets the butterflies going inside me. And if that can happen, it could obviously open up doors later on to fight for wins again.
“But as much as I want to win again, it's really because I believe I can. But I'm not going to dictate this second phase of my career just on that; dictate my happiness, dictate how I classify success in this second phase. To win again would be a bonus [but] I feel like I'm not carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders, and it's kind of nice.”
Looking back at his hand injury this year that held him back, Ricciardo said he still prefers to view the event positively. He added:
“I wish this never happened, because it was uncomfortable and painful and whatever. But now that it's obviously done, I still look back on this year as a positive, because sitting here [in Abu Dhabi] a year ago, I was like, 'Could this be my last race?'
“Genuinely, I don't exaggerate when I say that, I really didn't know; I honestly thought it was 50/50. So to kind of have the year I've had – forget the hand, I just kind of feel a little bit… reborn again is kind of the right word. I feel just re-energised, I've definitely got a second wind.
“Even if I speak of the hand, for this not to feel like a setback probably speaks volumes. I could see how maybe some people would see that lame accident with high consequences like 'yeah, maybe Daniel should just give it up, that's probably just a sign that he should just call it a day.' But I never thought that, I never felt like that. So that was maybe even more power to the decision of trying to kick some butt!”
