Daniel Ricciardo was once one of the best overtakers in Formula 1 – now he has retired: David Coulthard explains Ricciardo’s downfall
According to David Coulthard, Daniel Ricciardo was once “one of the most promising young drivers, one of the best overtakers of his generation and always exciting to watch.” But then the Australian’s Formula 1 career went downhill. Coulthard expressed a theory about why this happened in the “High Performance” podcast.
Coulthard said: “Some drivers develop well. Others are influenced by success, and that affects their future career path. I think Daniel Ricciardo is an example of that.”
Ricciardo joined Formula 1 in 2011 as a Red Bull junior and was initially loaned to the backmarker team HRT. In 2012 and 2013, he scored his first World Championship points for Toro Rosso, which earned him a permanent seat at Red Bull in 2014 alongside four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel. Ricciardo defeated Vettel in the team duel and finished third in the World Championship.
Everything was still “fine” at Red Bull and Renault
Ricciardo achieved another third place in the drivers’ standings in 2016, this time with Max Verstappen at his side. Although he was also the better driver in terms of points in 2017, the balance of power at Red Bull shifted in Verstappen’s favor in 2018. Ricciardo then moved to Renault.
“Everything was still fine then,” says Coulthard. But Ricciardo’s move to McLaren in the 2021 season marked the start of a downward trend. “Because there he was beaten by Lando Norris in both years, even though he won one race.”
However, his surprise victory at Monza in 2021 did not help: Ricciardo was unable to regain his former form at McLaren and lost his seat to Oscar Piastri for the 2023 season. He returned to the Red Bull universe mid-season and drove a few races for AlphaTauri. He started the 2024 season there as a regular driver – until he had to leave prematurely.
How Coulthard explains the decline
Coulthard explains why it “no longer really worked” for Ricciardo at AlphaTauri/Racing Bulls: “You accumulate baggage over the course of your life. If you’re poor, you have a bag from the supermarket with a few clothes in it. If you’re rich, you have a Louis Vuitton bag – but you still have to carry it if you want to get the next chance.“
Coulthard accuses Ricciardo of carrying ”baggage” around with him for too long: “Some people may not be able to let go. They can’t get back to the point where they were most free and performed at their best.”
He feels that Ricciardo’s career has “happened too fast” for the Australian. But Ricciardo has come to terms with it: “He’s happy in retirement — and probably a wealthy man,” says Coulthard. Ricciardo himself recently assured everyone that “everything is fine.”
Ricciardo won a total of eight Grand Prix races for Red Bull and McLaren during his Formula 1 career. Coulthard achieved 13 victories for Williams and McLaren.
