Daniel Ricciardo Reacts to Best Career Moments: ‘I know F1 is serious, but we can still make it fun’

Daniel Ricciardo brought an infectious energy and trademark humor to Formula 1 that transformed the atmosphere of the paddock, contrasting his warm persona with a fierce, uncompromising edge on the circuit. Across a top-flight career highlighted by stints with Red Bull and McLaren, the Australian secured eight Grand Prix victories. Two years removed from his departure from the sport, Ricciardo provided an in-depth retrospective on his most significant triumphs, heartbreaks, and the celebrations that defined his racing legacy.

Breakthrough in Montreal and Letting Go of Championship Obsession

Ricciardo’s first taste of Grand Prix victory arrived during his inaugural campaign with Red Bull at the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix. After starting sixth on the grid and capitalizing on the retirement of Lewis Hamilton, Ricciardo mounted a late charge, pulling off critical overtakes on Sergio Perez and Nico Rosberg to capture the checkered flag. At the time, his immediate radio response was an overwhelmed laugh accompanied by pure astonishment.

I didn’t really know what to say, he explained. I think it was such a young laugh of shock and joy. I mean, the first emotion is – I don’t know, is nostalgia an emotion? It feels so familiar, but also so long ago. I’m also just very grateful to have been able to experience this feeling. That’s the highest high in the sport. Beyond that is to win a World Championship.

Over time, his perspective on that maiden victory—and his overall career—evolved considerably away from the singular pursuit of a title. For many years, I didn’t feel like my career was a success because the World Championship was something that I was so fixed on and believed in. But I think now looking back, I’m like, okay, this was pretty awesome to still be able to get these moments.

Heartbreak and Absolute Redemption on the Streets of Monaco

Having established himself as a master around Monte Carlo, Ricciardo took pole position at the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix. Describing that period, Ricciardo recalled: That was a good lap. I remember that. That was a good car as well. Monaco is special. There was definitely a good chunk of my career that I felt like I had an edge in Monaco.

He continued: I had two poles in three years there. It didn’t feel like a big deal because I was so high on confidence and that belief in myself – not in an arrogant way, just it didn’t even feel like a big deal. It was like, yeah, this is my track. I was an intense young human being. [There was a] certain period of time where I felt untouchable on those streets. I just felt like I was willing to take more risks and I was very happy to get my first pole, but I was nearly angry that I hadn’t got it sooner. That’s why I was like, now it’s my time. I was running very high on confidence. I couldn’t do that today, but I can still take myself there and remember the feeling. I know why I was able to do it. Sometimes it does feel a little bit out of body. I think in those moments, maybe I was someone else.

However, race day in 2016 turned into a tactical disaster. While leading after swapping from wet weather tires to intermediates, Ricciardo pulled into the pit lane for slick tires, only to find the Red Bull mechanics completely unprepared without the correct compound ready. The blunder handed the lead to Lewis Hamilton, who took the win while Ricciardo crossed the line 7.252 seconds adrift in second.

I left hardly anything on the table, Ricciardo admitted. There were certainly some years there that I didn’t have that level of confidence and it went from being the best track for me to one of the worst, just like that. I think at the end of the day, what it was is they reacted to Lewis and what he did. I think they changed at the last second what to do. In simple terms, it’s like they forgot the basics – control your controllables. I think there was panic and it was a mess. That was definitely one of my worst days in F1. I think if I never won Monaco after that, it would still hurt me a lot more.

Redemption finally arrived in 2018 when Ricciardo secured pole once more and managed to nurse a severely wounded Red Bull machine to victory ahead of Sebastian Vettel despite a catastrophic loss of hybrid power.

I had a very wounded car, he explained. At that moment, some of my lack of knowledge with the way Formula 1 cars work and how an engine works and those hybrid engines and all of this… I didn’t really know what the problem was. I probably should have known, but if I knew, I think it would have made me realise how much worse it was. F1 cars have eight gears. In Monaco, because it’s a shorter straight, you don’t really even get to eight. So you’re already just using seven gears. With that problem, I was only using six, so I had so much less power. I was telling the team and they were just giving me instructions like move your brakes forward or do this or do that. It was just problem solving. They weren’t really giving me the script on what the problem was.

Winning the 2018 race relieved an extraordinary psychological burden, which he celebrated with his famous leap into the Red Bull swimming pool. I don’t have 100 wins. I had eight, so they’re all very special. But yes, more was on that than 2016. I think getting another chance to win Monaco made the pressure even higher, Ricciardo said. I just wanted it to be over. I wasn’t looking forward to the race. I wasn’t excited about anything. I was just like, I’ve hardly slept. Everyone’s coming up to me, wishing me luck and trying to give me advice. I just want to go hide and get this race done and hopefully win and then go drink!

Reflecting on the pool celebration, he added: The drivers that had won in Monaco that had raced with Red Bull had done flips into the pool. I was like, look, I’m probably going to embarrass myself. It’s already been done. What’s something that feels me? What feels kind of goofy? One of my favourite movies is Me, Myself and Irene. I love Jim Carrey. There’s a scene where he leaps off a bridge and I feel like the way I did it, it was my memory of how he did it in that film. I was like, this will feel silly. I’m kind of laughing at myself doing a belly flop. A bit like the shoey, I didn’t think it would be that cool at the time and it ended up being probably the most beautiful thing ever in F1!

The Cultural Impact of the ‘Shoey’ and Unwinding F1’s Stiff Image

Ricciardo’s influence went beyond the track through his podium ritual of the “shoey”—drinking champagne from a sweaty racing boot to show Australia that I’m proud to be Australian—which swept through the grid and roped in competitors like Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, as well as Hollywood icon Sir Patrick Stewart.

There was definitely a conscious part of it where the sport was still very serious, Ricciardo described. I would sometimes see drivers on the podium and they looked kind of miserable, and I couldn’t really understand why. I get it if you lose the race on the last lap and you finish second instead of first, but there’s just a lot of situations where I was like, the sport feels a little stiff. That was also my way of trying to bring in something else to the sport. It felt like the tie was choking everyone, and I was like, let’s just undo a button here and relax a little. Then it just became my thing.

He noted: I weirdly became relatable through doing the silly things. I realised it made it more fun for everyone else around me. Look, you have to get results to back it up. There was a time and place still, but I felt like the team appreciated it. I know it’s serious and there’s a lot of money and business involved in the sport, but we can still make it fun.

Resurgence at Monza: Ending McLaren’s Win Drought

After leaving Red Bull following the 2018 season and racing for Renault, Ricciardo joined McLaren, where he experienced notable struggles before capturing his final Formula 1 victory at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. Overtaking former teammate Verstappen at the start, Ricciardo controlled the pace to lead teammate Lando Norris across the finish line, delivering McLaren its first win in nine years.

I remember hearing the team in the background all celebrating and losing their minds, so that made me really happy, he concluded. When you succeed in the sport, everyone in the team feels a part of it. To celebrate it with such a big group of people, it’s like a party. [It was] a year that I questioned myself a lot and lacked a lot of confidence – I hadn’t won in a few years, and I questioned, will I ever win again? That was a very real question. When it’s been so long, you start having doubts as a team and as an organisation.

Ricciardo detailed how the high-speed layout of Autodromo Nazionale Monza helped restore his self-belief: For all of us to feel this sense of relief and like, oh my gosh, we do belong here. I knew it was our best chance of getting a podium that year, or my best chance, because I knew the car. We were quick on the straights, and Monza is very much a straight-line circuit. I always felt really good in Monza. It was a track I enjoyed, and I felt like myself again. I just had a certain mindset, which brought out a certain inner confidence. Was I thinking [I could] win? No, I was thinking a podium. It was my first win with another team, so that was also something I was personally proud of. Probably two months before that, I was very low, extremely low. I was proud of myself to be able to find it within me to pull it off. The opposite side of success can feel very lonely, but everyone played a part in winning on that day. Pit stop, strategy, reliability – it all just worked and everyone knows that they did their bit and they helped get that car to cross the line first. Celebrating with the team and seeing everyone smile as big as your own, that’s very cool.

Why This Matters

Daniel Ricciardo’s career represents a critical era of modern Formula 1 characterized by hyper-technical competition matched with growing global entertainment appeal. In an environment often constrained by corporate pressure, Ricciardo proved that world-class driving could coexist with an approachable, lighthearted demeanor. His candid reflections demonstrate the immense psychological weight carried by grand prix winners, showing how single moments—such as pit errors, mechanical crises, or drought-breaking drives—shape the careers and mindsets of top-tier athletes long after they leave the grid.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Formula 1 races did Daniel Ricciardo win during his career?
Daniel Ricciardo secured a total of eight Grand Prix victories during his Formula 1 career, earning seven wins with Red Bull Racing and one with McLaren.

What happened during Daniel Ricciardo’s 2016 Monaco Grand Prix pit stop?
Ricciardo held the lead from pole position in changeable weather conditions, but when he entered the pits for slick tires, the Red Bull pit crew did not have the correct compound ready. The prolonged delay allowed Lewis Hamilton to take the lead and win the race, leaving Ricciardo in second.

What was Daniel Ricciardo’s final Formula 1 victory?
Ricciardo’s eighth and final career Grand Prix victory came at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, where he led a McLaren 1-2 finish alongside teammate Lando Norris, securing the team’s first win in nine seasons.