He enjoys the adrenaline rush and believes it helps him stay focused and mentally prepared for races. Hamilton's team-mate George Russell also sent Ricciardo a message on social media, which referenced the Australian's enjoyment at switching the order of the Mercedes driver's names around. It proved to be the only real highlight of Ricciardo’s time at McLaren daniel ricciardo best moments as he returned them to the top step of a podium for the first time since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix. Ricciardo led teammate Lando Norris home for a one-two after the Briton sacrificed his own bid for glory. Ricciardo also had a substantial crash with fellow Red Bull academy product Alex Albon later in his career at the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix.





Obviously better and better doesn’t mean we’ll eventually be winning races by October, but just to really keep learning and feeling comfortable. "All the drivers are under pressure to deliver but the reason that Daniel was in that car was to get himself back into a position to ultimately be there to pick up the pieces if Checo didn't deliver. He qualified fourth at Spa, and 'finished' there after the race was cancelled because of torrential rain, then was fifth on the grid at the Dutch Grand Prix.
A first Q3 appearance followed in China followed, before driving to his first points finish with Renault in seventh place. In Azerbaijan, Ricciardo reversed into Daniil Kvyat when both cars stopped after an overtake attempt by Ricciardo, causing race-ending damage for both drivers and Ricciardo's third retirement in four races. Six consecutive race finishes followed, he finished 13th at the Spanish Grand Prix after a questionable race strategy. He had his best qualifying thus far with sixth in Monaco, but a late call to pit before the safety car, dropped to ninth at the flag. Ricciardo had a successful weekend in Canada, improving his personal best qualifying position to fourth. He proceeded to finish in sixth place, having held off a faster Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas for numerous laps.

It was then the lead of the race at the close of Lap 68 as Rosberg could not defend into T12 as Ricciardo breezed around the German’s outside. The Australian would ultimately take his first win in F1 by 4.236s to Rosberg, with Vettel joining teammate Ricciardo on the podium. Toro Rosso had seen Ricciardo out-qualify teammate Jean-Eric Vergne after reaching Q3 at the Frenchman’s expense, as well. His race then hit an early blip when contact with Bruno Senna of Williams forced Ricciardo to pit at the end of the first lap to get a new front wing. Whilst Singapore may be the last time we see Ricciardo racing on the F1 grid, he could make a return to the scene of some of his greatest racing after receiving a unique offer.
Upon returning from the summer break, Ricciardo qualified fourth for the Belgian Grand Prix in wet conditions, ahead of his teammate who crashed out in Q3. The race on Sunday was delayed multiple times due to torrential rain and was abandoned after two laps behind the safety car. The following weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix, Ricciardo qualified in tenth, again ahead of his teammate.

Stream every F1 race and more on Sky Sports with NOW Stream Sky Sports live with no contract on a Month or Day membership on NOW. He is also a UFC fan and, during the course of his Formula 1 career, developed an affinity for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. Ricciardo is known for his aggressive style as well as favouring a late braking manoeuvre to engineer overtakes.
Instead, RB has opted for 22-year-old Lawson, who came in for five races last season when Ricciardo broke his wrist in a crash at the Dutch Grand Prix. The self-styled “Honey Badger”, he introduced Aussie culture, in the form of the “shoey”, to the podium as he guzzled champagne from his sweaty racing boot after each of his wins. Daniel Ricciardo thanked fans on Friday for a “wild and wonderful” Formula One journey after being axed by the RB team and replaced by New Zealand prodigy Liam Lawson for the rest of the 2024 season. It all started well on race day, with Ricciardo maintaining his lead and no signs of any drama. But then, on Lap 28 of 78, he reported a loss of power that was in fact a full MGU-K failure, robbing him of crucial performance and a couple of gears. A few months before his victory at Spa, Ricciardo joined fellow Australian race winners Mark Webber, Alan Jones and Jack Brabham with his maiden F1 triumph – which was another rollercoaster ride from sixth on the grid in Canada.
He left a team on the rise, and seven Grand Prix victories, behind to bet on Renault. But following two seasons and just a pair of podiums with Renault Ricciardo was on the move again, this time to McLaren. The move appears to be the final act of Ricciardo's F1 career as a driver, with the 35-year-old having claimed eight victories in 257 grand prix starts across 14 seasons.

The 2021 Italian Grand Prix was one of the most exciting races in recent times, with multiple incidents that shook the grid order on several occasions. On lap 7, after the Safety Car period, Ricciardo completed a fantastic overtake on the inside over Antonio Giovinazzi and then George Russell to move up to eleventh. On lap 18, he overtook Sebastian Vettel to move into the points, and in the closing laps of the race, he overtook Carlos Sainz to finish a solid ninth. Two rounds after the Eifel GP, at the Emilia Romagna GP, Ricciardo showed he was in excellent form, taking another podium against all odds. In qualifying, the Australian was fifth, while Valtteri Bottas took the pole position, followed by Hamilton, Verstappen, and Gasly.
In his first season with Red Bull under Renault power, Ricciardo finished third in the championship, taking his maiden career win at the Canadian Grand Prix, with further wins in Hungary and Belgium. After a winless 2015 campaign for Red Bull, Ricciardo returned to the top of the podium at the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix, eventually clinching third in the championship for the second time in three years in Mexico. He took further wins for Red Bull at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2017, and the Chinese and Monaco Grands Prix in 2018. Across a breakout 2014 season – his first with Red Bull after graduating from Toro Rosso to fill the seat of countryman Mark Webber – it was the Australian who pounced whenever an otherwise dominant Mercedes team of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg slipped.

Off the track, it is impossible not to love this guy, as his charismatic personality makes him one of the most likable drivers, always with his big smile and joking around. We don’t know what the future holds for him or if he will return to F1, but we will miss him in the paddock in 2023. The Australian opted for a one-stop strategy, making the pit stop on lap 14 and placing himself in the eighth position.