Ricciardo opens door to racing return for 'pure joy'

Daniel Ricciardo has not closed the door on a competitive return - but the retired Australian wants any comeback to be about joy, not chasing trophies.

Daniel Ricciardo admits he could still return to racing one day - but only if it is "for the pure joy of driving".

Speaking on the Speed Street podcast hosted by Conor Daly, the retired Australian said he is currently enjoying life away from Formula 1 after years inside what he described as the sport's relentless "bubble".

Asked how often people still ask him about racing again, 36-year-old Ricciardo admitted the speculation has not completely stopped.

"Yeah, look, I'm getting asked a little less of late because I think I've probably told enough people," he said.

"I want to be mature enough and I don't want to be too black and white, because never say never."

"Obviously I'm really enjoying not competing, where I currently sit, and just enjoying, as I touched on, the small things in life and not having to be on a stage and all that."

"Do I know what I'll feel in three years, five years? No."

Ricciardo said any future comeback would need to feel very different from the pressure-filled final years of his Formula 1 career.

"It would be definitely more from a fun aspect than a 'I'm chasing some championship' aspect," he explained.

"I think it's just going to be for the pure joy of driving, as opposed to ... I don't need to hold a trophy in something. I don't need this for myself."

"Sometimes that can take the enjoyment out of racing."

"It's a balance because you want to have goals and that's obviously what gives you that purpose in the morning to wake up and push yourself and get in the gym and all that, but sometimes that can also rob it from some of the joy."

Indy 500 calls

Ricciardo also revealed he plans to attend this year's Indianapolis 500 out of curiosity about how the famous American event compares to Formula 1.

Having stepped away from F1's exhausting travel and media demands, he says he now sees the sport very differently. "I was in the F1 sphere, bubble, let's say, for so long and I got used to how intense the schedule was, the paddock, all of it," Ricciardo said.

"And that became normal. But now that I'm outside of it, I'm like, 'Oh, that was far from normal.' Like the schedule was down to the minute."

He said the Indy 500 now fascinates him partly because he wants to observe whether the atmosphere is more relaxed than Formula 1.

"So there's a curiosity with what does a week look like for you for the biggest race of the year?" Ricciardo told Daly. "So the schedule and your personal time compared to your on time."

"I'm curious to see how that is and how laidback are the drivers or how intense and switched on they are the whole weekend."

Daniel Ricciardo snapshot

See also: Daniel Ricciardo's F1 career hub on F1-Fansite.

About the author

Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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