Ricciardo last took to the track at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, when the Australian was promptly replaced by Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls.
Despite several rumours linking him to a variety of Formula 1 returns or other racing series, Ricciardo has not competed in a race since.
The eight-time grand prix winner opened up in an interview with The Athletic about growing comfortable with life away from Formula 1 and said he has little desire to return to the chaotic lifestyle that defined much of his career.
“(It) took me a while to figure it out after racing, probably who I was and what maybe my purpose was beyond just being a race car driver,” Ricciardo admitted.
“So I’d say I’m much closer to being comfortable with that.
“I sit here just more relaxed, and the thought of going back into a chaotic sort of lifestyle terrifies me, to be honest.”
Ricciardo said he had already sensed the end of his F1 career was approaching as he came to the 2024 race in Singapore, but said the reality of it still proved difficult to process.
“When you wake up with really one purpose for so many years, even if it feels like the right time, necessarily,” Ricciardo said.
“It doesn’t really change the fact that, ‘Oh, it’s gone, and what do I do now?’”
Ricciardo explained that the months immediately following his departure were a period of adjustment, admitting it took time before he truly accepted that his chapter in F1 had closed.
He said the constant attention and demands of life in the paddock had shaped his routine for years, leaving him searching for normality once the spotlight faded.
“So much of my life was events and trackside, and there’s always a camera around,” he explained.
“There’s always people, and I have to put on always a smile and have to be careful what I say and this and that.
“I tried to, obviously, always come across authentic and as myself, but it’s impossible to be 100 percent that when there is just always eyes on you.”
He said part of that reset involved spending time back in Australia, including helping out on his family’s farm where he took on practical jobs such as repairing equipment and driving machinery for hours at a time.
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The 36-year-old added the quieter environment allowed him to reflect on the pace of his previous lifestyle and the lack of time he often had to process decisions without outside influence.
“I would say probably my biggest takeaway from last year is the importance of alone time, because I realised that my life was always surrounded by people and chaos, so to speak, that I kind of lost my own thoughts and ideas,” he explained.
“I never really had a chance to probably make a decision on my own, and I would easily get convinced that something’s the right thing to do, or this or that, because I always have kind of voices around me,” he said.
“Alone time, I think, for everyone is important. It also just makes you see, like, ‘OK, where am I at with life? What am I chasing? Is that the right thing to be chasing? What do I want? What do I value?’
“You can’t really ever ask yourself those questions if you’re constantly surrounded by groups of people and everything’s like, fun, fun, fun.
“That’s not also real life, which I’ve started to realise.”
Despite speculation about a future role in broadcasting or a potential racing comeback, Ricciardo said he has no immediate plans to return to the competitive environment that defined his career.
“I just had to try and push back on that stuff, because I didn’t feel like that was right or what I wanted,” he explained.
“And I know jumping into commentating or something is not what I want to do.
“So just doing something to do it and stay in people spaces is just personally not my journey, not what I’m chasing.”
Instead, Ricciardo has focused on projects away from the intensity of F1.
He continues to develop his lifestyle brand Enchanté and has also taken on a role as a global ambassador for Ford Racing.
“It still keeps me linked to the automotive world, but I’m not just a poster boy for F1,” Ricciardo said.
“I can kind of do my own thing but stay in that space.”
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