The 2024 British Grand Prix was a landmark moment for Lewis Hamilton as he ended a 945-day wait for an F1 win on home soil, but for another fans’ favourite in Daniel Ricciardo it was the beginning of the end
Netflix favourite Daniel Ricciardo stars in season seven of Formula 1: Drive to Survive as the show that made him a household name bids farewell to its first star.
Not every team was willing to engage with the first series of the show, which went on to become a hit and helped bring an army of new fans to the sport. But Red Bull did and one of their drivers, affable Aussie Ricciardo, became its poster boy.
He was portrayed as an F1 champion-to-be but it didn’t work out that way. He dramatically left for Renault which was the start of his career’s decline, before an unhappy spell with McLaren which saw his contract ripped up a year earlier than planned.
Red Bull took him back as a reserve and Ricciardo got his second chance with the junior team when Nyck de Vries was shown the door in mid-2023. But he never did enough to prove he could once again be team-mate to Max Verstappen and last year’s Singapore Grand Prix was likely his F1 swansong.
The new season of the Netflix F1 show, released on March 7, unsurprisingly dedicates some time to Ricciardo and his quest to get back to his old Red Bull seat. An opportunity presented itself last year with Sergio Perez also struggling and on the brink of the chop.
In the build up to the 2024 British Grand Prix, Netflix cameras capture Red Bull chief Christian Horner discussing his driver situation. He says: “If we carry on like this, we’re f***ed. What are we gonna do with our Mexican? I’m starting to think it’s diminishing returns.
“This weekend, we have to look very carefully at the other drivers [Ricciardo, VCARB team-mate Yuki Tsunoda and reserve Liam Lawson]. I’m a big fan of Daniel. He’s not been competitive, but we know what he’s capable of. I think he can sniff that there’s a bit of a chance.”
That final sentence was clearly true as Ricciardo is later seen in conversation with the team’s head of communications, Paul Smith. “I just wasn’t sure how much they’ve made aware to the public that Checo was somewhat on the verge,” the Australian racer says.
Smith replies: “What Christian’s been saying publicly is, the way that it’s been approached with Checo is through a lot of support, right? As opposed to, we’re definitely f***ing replacing Checo, he’s f***ed, DR is in [at Red Bull], Liam is in at VCARB. So for you, I think Christian’s taking the time to see what happens here – he needs success.” Ricciardo simply replies: “Yeah, that’s cool.”
But his Silverstone race was underwhelming – a pointless 13th-placed finish just two places above his starting position. And even though Perez also had a weekend to forget in Northamptonshire, Ricciardo’s performance clearly was not enough to convince Horner that he had a future with Red Bull Racing.
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After the race, the team principal says: “We don’t have anybody else in the other car that is putting in performances that are like ‘wow’.” Perez kept his place, even after another horrible performance in Belgium before the summer break, and made it to the end of the season before Horner chose Lawson to partner Verstappen in the upcoming 2025 campaign.
Ricciardo was replaced before then, officially announced after a farewell race in Singapore. And it was when speaking to the Netflix cameras following that wet race at Silverstone, where he failed to perform, that the Aussie hints that he perhaps no longer has the desire to continue toiling away in F1.
He says: “[It was] kind of terrifying – I know I should take risks, but I’m also like if I crash that doesn’t do me any favours. Silverstone did not go good. In those tricky conditions… I don’t know. I guess I don’t want to admit it. I believe I’m still willing to put it all on the edge. I guess maybe I asked the question now – where as a 22-year-old or a 25-year-old, you probably don’t ask the question – is it worth the risk?”