Happy Ricciardo returns to the spotlight

Having kept a low profile since being dumped by Racing Bulls last year, Daniel Ricciardo and his trademark smile have reemerged with the fan favourite giving back to the sport.

Despite being away from F1, Ricciardo remains in the racing world and is giving back to the grassroots racing started his own go-karting series.

Aside from the occasional Instagram post and advert, there have been few sightings of the “Honey Badger” in 2025.

Since Ricciardo was unceremoniously dumped from Racing Bulls after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, there has been plenty of speculation about whether or not he would ever jump back behind the wheel.

It appears the eight-time Grand Prix winner has pleasingly enjoyed his time in the “slow lane” this year after enduring a rocky road since his last victory at Monza back in 2021.

Ricciardo spoke out during the latest round of the DRS Ricciardo Kart event held at Buckmore Park last weekend.

“All good! I’m just enjoying some life in the slow lane. I mean, it sounds weird saying like retirement when I’m 35 years old, but retirement from at least the world I was living in. It’s cool,” Ricciardo said.

“To be at the kart track… it’s my first time at a race track since I guess Singapore, so quite a few months now. But it’s cool to see the kids… this is why I started karting…

“I’ve had photos with groups of the kids and I can tell the friendships they have, and these friendships will last a lifetime a lot of them. 

“My best friend to this day was a friend that I raced karts with. 

“It’s nice to be back at like the grassroots of it and the most pure form of racing.”

Whilst for many of the competitors seeing the former Red Bull and McLaren winner was a lifetime memory, it has also been a fulfilling experience for Ricciardo.

“I think now that I’m a bit removed from it and life is not as chaotic, it’s nice to remember what it was like to be at the start of the career,” he explained. 

“We all have idols and heroes and I would be very nervous meeting someone who I admired, so I understand sometimes it’s a bit overwhelming. 

“But everyone seems pretty cool. 

“I guess maybe I’m not the only driver they’ve met before – there’s a lot of F1 fans here!

“I think just to have someone that you want to try and obviously look up to and someone that can inspire you and if I’m able to sprinkle a tiny bit of inspiration or motivation today by being here and having a chat to a few kids, that’s awesome. 

“That’s something I know I appreciated when I was eight, nine, 10 years old.

“I think I was quite lucky with the advice.

“It was always just, ‘Go and have fun’. It wasn’t about trying to impress someone or be someone you’re not. ‘If you do this you’ll be on TV and make money’. It wasn’t about that, it was just, ‘Go and have fun’.

Image: Red Bull Content Pool

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