Ricciardo’s F1 retirement date was made public.

Although Daniel Ricciardo acknowledges he would not be “comfortable” with just “occupying” his RB seat, he states he is not “ready to hand” up his Formula One driving to a Red Bull youngster. In an exclusive interview with RacingNews365, the 35-year-old stated that he will probably “speak openly about” reaching that point in his career when the time comes. Due to a poor start to the season, Ricciardo warded off early-season doubts about his RB spot. As a result, he has found his form again and is proving to be a lot tighter opponent for teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

Liam Lawson, who was expected to take over and who shocked the Formula One world by filling in for the Australian for five races last season as he recovered from an injury, is still waiting in the wings. Questions over Ricciardo’s long-term future continue, even though he was not replaced earlier in the year and Red Bull has already confirmed that its driver lineups will not change for the remainder of 2024.

courtesy toward the ‘journey’ There is growing pressure on RB to return to its youth team roots, as hinted when it left AlphaTauri, after Helmut Marko’s request for it to do so. The Red Bull family has choices, which puts more pressure on players like Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo. Lawson is not the only 19-year-old who is vying for a spot in Formula One; Isack Hadjar is currently leading the Formula Two drivers’ championship.

In Formula 3, 16-year-old Arvid Lindblad is making waves in the midst of a title campaign and is rumored to have been the driving force behind the FIA’s recent relaxation of the super license regulations, ostensibly at Red Bull’s request. Despite joking that he looks younger after shaving, Ricciardo, who is currently in his mid-30s, no longer matches the profile of a junior team. The eight-time grand prix winner said, “Look, I also know what it’s like to be a junior, and a young kid that’s hungry and wants that chance to get in the sport.”

“It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was there. And, you know, I appreciate that too. I won’t be at ease with myself the day I feel like I’m filling a seat I can’t fill. I’ll be unwilling to be here. “I don’t want to rob someone of their opportunity. I have too much respect for the trip. On the other hand, I don’t feel as though I am there. And when I do, I’ll probably talk about it in public. As of right now, I see it as my final chance, which is probably how I felt when we spoke a year ago. The youngsters will get their chance and their time, and I’ll give it everything I’ve got, but I don’t feel prepared to hand it off.

“They won’t get that opportunity just yet.” Before the Canadian Grand Prix, where Ricciardo finished in the top 10 for the first time this year over a full race distance, the Tsunoda led him by 19 points to 5; the latter resulted from an outstanding drive to fourth place in the Miami sprint. Since then, though, the eight-time grand prix victor has surpassed the Japanese driver by a score of seven to three.

Although it is a slight comeback, it has silenced the immediate calls for Ricciardo to give way to drivers like Lawson or Hadjar. However, the Australian driver is no stranger to form slumps; in his two years at McLaren, he was largely outclassed and outmatched by Lando Norris, even though he did win the Italian Grand Prix in 2021.

After Woking bought out his contract in 2022, Ricciardo’s career in Formula One appeared all but over. But Red Bull gave its former driver a lifeline; after being brought in as a third driver, the 35-year-old was promoted back to a race seat, replacing Nyck de Vries after 10 rounds—the final opportunity Ricciardo himself mentioned. The RB driver knows that kind of opportunity will not come around again, and that if he is no longer able to compete at the necessary level, he will be sent out to pasture, but he does not believe he has arrived at that point.

He continued, “And look, if my results frickin’ suck and whatever, then so be it and that will happen, but I personally don’t feel like I’m there yet. I think I’m also too honest with myself, so I think I would feel uncomfortable occupying a seat if I really didn’t feel my heart was in it anymore. Yeah, I wouldn’t feel good about it. So, they’ll get that chance – but not yet.”