"I mean, he dresses like a 60-year-old, but otherwise he's alright": When Daniel Ricciardo took a cheeky dig at Carlos Sainz

Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz did not have many on-track altercations, but the Aussie once made a subtle jibe at the Spaniard's fashion sense in his condemnation of Netflix's Drive to Survive. The Aussie had surged in popularity due to the docuseries, but was unhappy with the episodes seemingly spinning up rivalries from thin air, as he shared his take on the issue in 2021.

The former F1 driver was a part of Red Bull's pool of drivers, which Sainz was a part of in his early days in the sport. Though the 30-year-old departed the squadron early to forge his own F1 path, Ricciardo left the Austrian management a little while later.

Moreover, the Aussie replaced Sainz at Renault in 2019, while the latter ventured over to McLaren. With the pair's supposed rivalry being talked about in the third episode of season two of Drive to Survive, which was titled 'Dogfight,' Ricciardo criticised the docuseries for forging a rivalry that wasn't even there, as he said in an interview with Square Mile:

"I mean the second season [of Drive to Survive], there were some episodes or parts where I feel they forced it a little bit. They tried to create a bit of a rivalry between me and [Carlos] Sainz and it wasn't really there. Like, he's no more a rival than anyone else. There wasn't any personal grudge with him, but I think [Netflix] wanted something, so a lot of questions led with asking about Carlos."

However, his following statement threw shade at Carlos Sainz's sense, as he said:

"Maybe no one noticed, but for me, I was like, he's fine. I've probably got other guys that I dislike, you know, as opposed to Carlos… I mean, he dresses like a 60-year old, but otherwise he's alright."

Meanwhile, the pair built their own paths in F1, and Daniel Ricciardo's time in the sport came to an end last year at the Singapore GP, before being replaced by Liam Lawson for the remainder of the season.

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Daniel Ricciardo opens up about his life away from F1

Daniel Ricciardo at the 2024 F1 Grand Prix of Singapore race weekend - Source: Getty

Daniel Ricciardo seemingly stayed off the grid after his retirement, as his frequency of posting stuff on social media reduced. But the Aussie soon came back and started making public appearances after he departed from the F1 grid.

Talking about his life away from F1, the 36-year-old did some hikes and said (via F1's official website):

"This year has been a bit of self-exploration. I lived this crazy high-speed life for so long and this year I’ve sat into a little bit of stillness."

On the other hand, Ricciardo was reportedly involved in a motorbike accident in Queensland, Australia, and has stayed off social media since then.