"The prince that never became a king": Fans react as Daniel Ricciardo announces retirement from F1

Fans reacted as Daniel Ricciardo announced his retirement from racing after sitting out of F1 for close to a year. He recently hinted at his future with Ford Racing, where he will serve as their ambassador.

Ricciardo remained a fan-favorite throughout his F1 stint. He built up a legacy racing with Red Bull and McLaren; however, the last stages of his career saw him struggling with competitiveness. He raced for Racing Bulls last season, but was replaced mid-season with Liam Lawson.

He remained out of racing since then, and recently posted an update with Ford Racing, which was rebranded from Ford Performance. He was signed as the brand's ambassador and formally declared retirement from racing.

Upon announcing his retirement, fans grew quite emotional. Many expected him to return to a different form of racing or find a non-racing role in Formula 1.

Fans react to Ricciardo's retirement announcement

Users also mentioned that they hoped to see him return to a different race series in the future.

Daniel Ricciardo also claimed that his racing days were "behind him," and that he was looking forward to working with Ford in the future.

Daniel Ricciardo prepared to leave racing, looks forward to working with Ford

The 36-year-old has had a very inconsistent time racing in the final few seasons. His contract with McLaren was terminated at the end of the 2022 season. Although Red Bull Racing signed him as their third driver, he did not get the opportunity to hit the track again. Racing Bulls then signed him, but, as mentioned, he was replaced mid-season.

With seemingly no more opportunities remaining for him in F1, Daniel Ricciardo announced his retirement. In a blogpost he wrote, he mentioned how his racing days were "behind him."

"Kicking back but always seeking the thrill," he wrote. "Nothing does it better than a Ford Raptor. Proud to be the newest ambassador of Ford Racing."

"While my racing days are behind me, my love for anything with wheels will always remain high, and for that I am proud to be partnering with Ford to become a Global Ford Racing Ambassador. I am going to be working closely with the Ford Racing team and specifically focus on the amazing Raptor brand and lifestyle that Raptor has become for many of Ford's customers."

Daniel Ricciardo's F1 career accounted for 257 race starts, 32 podiums, and eight race wins. Although he never won a World Championship, his charming personality made him a fan favorite. He still has a massive following on social media, with fans wishing him the best for his career ahead.

About the author

Gunaditya is one of Sportskeeda’s more experienced F1 and NASCAR journalists, having authored over 2,500 posts that have garnered over 4 million reads. He has been in this field for over four years and holds a degree in journalism.

When it comes to reporting, he is extremely meticulous with his research and tries his best to analyze every topic in its entirety before filing his story. Gunaditya does so by closely following veterans in the motorsports journalism arena and attempts to understand perspectives without personal bias to ensure his stories are accurate and reliable.

He is an old-schooler with respect to F1 as his favorite driver is Michael Schumacher due to the legendary driver’s adrenaline-fueled racing style, aggressive approach, and the resilience he showed early in his career. Understandably, his favorite constructor is Ferrari.

Apart from F1, Gunaditya's interest lies in football, and he is a keen fan of FC Barcelona and Argentina, and is also immensely interested in art and films. One can say he wears many hats, as he is also a musician.

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Edited by Gunaditya Tripathi