Daniel Ricciardo feels he has more to prove in Formula 1 and wants to compete for several more years. He made it clear once again that he wants to finish his career at Red Bull, namely with the first team!
“I didn’t need this summer vacation” Daniel Ricciardo made the statement in Zandvoort on Thursday, adding that he knows everyone does it. With him out for more than half a year, it is understandable that recharging wasn’t vital for him, as he had months before his return for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
However, the pause was not useless to him either. “I took the opportunity to catch up while the others relaxed. I also took a short break from racing, but I took better care of my body than I usually do during the summer break. Meanwhile, in this second phase of my career, I have a different approach to handling things.” – explained the Alpha Tauri competitor, stressing that he had trained a lot and restrained himself by celebrating.
Having his second chance, Ricciardo certainly wants to make the most of it.
“I feel really good mentally and I take it very seriously. I don’t want to put unnecessary pressure on myself, but I have certain goals that I want to achieve, and I have something to work towards.”
What are these goals is clear. He did not start working with the Red Bull B team to compete in the second half of the field, but because he sees Alpha Tauri as a starting point for Red Bull.
Ricciardo has made it clear that he wants to return to the Bulls first team.
“I made it clear, so to speak, to the big boys that I’m back in the Red Bull family and that’s the only place I want to be, I want to stay. No matter how long my career takes, I want to finish it here.”
“How have I changed in recent years? It’s been good, part of the journey. But coming back is what I want to end my career with. My dream is to go back to the big team. But if not, I want to be here.” said the eight-time race winner.
Daniel Ricciardo (Photo: XPB)According to Nico Rosberg, Ricciardo made the mistake of announcing this goal from the very first moment. According to the German, this only leads to unnecessary pressure on himself. However, the Australian has a different attitude to this. He stressed that after his weak years at McLaren, he did indeed have something to prove, but that would not crush him.
“There’s not a lot of pressure on me. I feel like I have something to prove, but I’m not putting too much weight on it. I’m in good shape.”
“My personality has developed a lot in the last six months, I’ve thought about things. I’ve only completed a couple of races, but on and off the track I felt like the weekends brought me what I wanted. I was looking for happiness, fun and motivation. These six months have been really effective for me.
He added that he was also better prepared to deal with potential disappointments than he was at McLaren. “When results don’t come, it’s hard to stay positive. Now I know what happens when I become negative. From my experience I will know which is the right way and which is the wrong way.” announce.
Daniel Ricciardo (Photo: XPB)As for the future, he felt that he still had a few years to go. “I’m just planning race by race, but I’m not saying I’m going to run this season and then see what happens. I want to compete for a few more years. Six months ago that wasn’t my answer. I didn’t know what my answer was, I wanted to find out during the break.”
“I feel like I have my youthful energy and motivation again, and I find joy in being on the track and competing again. So my plan is to compete for a few more years, but in terms of performance, I’m improving from race to race.”
