Daniel Ricciardo says he’s no longer a “little bit bitter” over having no Formula 1 title to his name, admitting he would be ” at peace” ending his career without one.
Ricciardo celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his grand prix debut back in 2011 at Silverstone this year, but is still yet to win the drivers’ championship.
The McLaren driver has finished third in the drivers’ standings twice in 2014 and 2016 for Red Bull, but hasn’t ended a season any higher despite scoring eight wins over his career.
A two-year stint at Renault followed by move to McLaren in 2021 has failed to see Ricciardo regularly fighting at the front of the field, managing just three podium finishes since leaving Red Bull in 2018.
Ricciardo reminded everyone why he is still rated highly in the F1 paddock by claiming victory for McLaren at the Italian Grand Prix, ending a three-year wait to return to the top step of the podium.
But while a world title still eludes him, Ricciardo says a changed mindset means he’d be contempt if his career were to end without winning a drivers’ crown.
Speaking on F1’s Beyond the Grid Podcast, Ricciardo said: “There was a time where I was a little bit bitter, like, ‘I should have had a title by now, this sucks, why don’t I, wrong place, wrong time’, or this or that.
“But maybe that’s the growth in me or the maturity where I don’t think that any more.
“I’m still here because I believe I can win a title, and I want to win a title.
“But I’m at peace with whatever happens, as long as I go out and leave it all on the track, I’ll get fulfilment.”
Ricciardo has made a slow start to life at McLaren following his switch from Renault this year, where he has often struggled to match the pace of team-mate Lando Norris.
While the Australian’s target is to become the first McLaren driver to win a championship since Lewis Hamilton in 2008, Ricciardo wouldn’t look back on his spell at the team with regret if he failed to achieve his ultimate goal.
“Say I’m at McLaren for five years, and we don’t get a title, I don’t want to look back on the five years as a failure,” Ricciardo said.
“Because then it’s like, ‘OK, that’s five years of my life that I’m just flushing down the toilet’. Five years of your life is a lot of time.
“That’s maybe the mindset switch that I’ve made. Don’t get me wrong, it has not made me any softer or less driven or less motivated. But I want to enjoy my time here in the sport.
“The goal is to be world champion, and I think that is why I will wake up every morning with the desire to do this. But I don’t want that to dictate my whole happiness.
“I’ve been doing this 10 years. I’m not world champion yet, so there’s no guarantee it will happen.
“I just don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket and then be miserable for the rest of my life because I haven’t done it.
“Winning in Monza was probably all I needed to give me all the happiness in 2021. That also proved that you can get so much from not just the world title.”
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