Daniel Ricciardo reappears with an update on his F1 retirement

Daniel Ricciardo has reappeared to provide an update on his time away from Formula 1.

Ricciardo lost his F1 seat at the Racing Bulls team before the conclusion of the 2024 season, when Red Bull made one of their notorious driver changes at their sister team.

It brought an end to Ricciardo’s racing career.

He reemerged with his trademark beaming smile on Tuesday, spending his 36th birthday with his parents watching the tennis at Wimbledon.

Ricciardo previously attended his karting championship at Buckmore Park.

“Future? I am just enjoying some life in the slow lane,” he said.

“It sounds weird saying retirement when I am [36] years old. But retirement from the world I was living in.

“It’s cool to be at the kart track. It’s my first time at a race track since Singapore, so quite a few months.

“It’s cool to see the kids. This is why I started karting.”

Daniel Ricciardo on inspiring future drivers

Daniel Ricciardo is now committed to inspiring the next generation.

“Now that I’m a bit removed from it, and life is not as chaotic, it’s nice to remember what it was like to be at the start of a career.

“We all have idols and heroes. I would be very nervous meeting someone who I admired. So I understand sometimes it’s a bit overwhelming.

“But everyone seems pretty cool. Maybe I’m not the only driver they’ve met before. There are a lot of F1 fans here!

“To have someone that you want to try and obviously look up to and someone that can inspire you? If I’m able to sprinkle a tiny bit of inspiration or motivation by being here and having a chat to a few kids, that’s awesome!

“That’s something I know I appreciated when I was eight, nine, 10 years old.”

Ricciardo advised the aspiring drivers: “‘Go and have fun’.”

He insisted the the fame and fortune he amassed in Formula 1 was never his goal.

“It wasn’t about trying to impress someone, or be someone you’re not,” he said.

“‘If you do this you’ll be on TV and make money’.

“It wasn’t about that, it was just, ‘Go and have fun’.”

Ricciardo was one of F1’s most popular drivers during his long career.

He won eight grands prix and represented HRT, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Renault, McLaren, AlphaTauri and RB.

The Australian would become the breakout star of Netflix’s Drive To Survive show which is credited with growing the fanbase of F1.