‘I Wish I Would Have Stayed’: Daniel Ricciardo Makes Heartfelt Confession on Red Bull Exit Before Title Streak

Former F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo has shared an emotional confession about his Red Bull exit, saying that he wishes he had stayed at the Austrian team in hindsight. But the Aussie star explained that he does not necessarily believe that staying on would mean he would have won the drivers’ title against Max Verstappen in 2021 or beyond.

“I still don’t know how to answer it. But I definitely don’t want to say, ‘Oh yeah, I would have been world champion if I stayed,’ because it’s not a reality that was lived and Max has gone on to prove that he is one of the best ever. So I don’t want to dismiss that,” said Ricciardo, when asked if he regrets leaving Red Bull in 2018 on the “Beyond The Grid Podcast“.

“I acknowledge that it was a decision… if I tell you everything that went on, it was wild. If I am to answer it shortly, yes, I guess I wish I would have stayed,” he added.

Ricciardo also revealed that Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz wanted him to stay at the Milton Keynes-based team beyond 2018.

Daniel Ricciardo Reveals Why He Left Red Bull in 2018

Ricciardo admitted that he decided to leave Red Bull at the end of the 2018 F1 season because he felt he was getting too comfortable at the team. He shared that he had a desire to try a new challenge, and hence made the decision to exit after five years.

“At that time, I left because I felt I was getting a bit comfortable, a bit complacent. I think there was a desire to try something else. So, it’s not that black and white,” said Ricciardo.

Ricciardo joined Renault in 2019 after he left Red Bull, where he stayed for only two seasons. After this, he moved to McLaren in 2021, a chapter that also ended after just a couple of years. The eight-time F1 race winner then returned to the Red Bull junior team midway through the 2023 season, but after a period of struggle, was removed in 2024, leading to his retirement from the sport.

Daniel Ricciardo Believes Staying at Red Bull Would Have Been His Best Opportunity of Winning an F1 Title

Ricciardo also added that staying at Red Bull beyond 2018 would have been his best opportunity to win the drivers’ championship. The 37-year-old explained that this makes him most curious about what would have happened.

“If I could have been a world champion, was that my best opportunity? Yeah, absolutely. So from that point of view, I would have loved to have known the reality if I had stayed, like another reality,” said Ricciardo.

Two years after Ricciardo’s exit, Red Bull was able to give Verstappen a car good enough to compete for the title in 2021, with the Dutchman coming out on top. Following this, Verstappen dominated the 2022 and 2023 seasons, with the Austrian team winning 38 out of a possible 44 races in those two years combined.

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