Daniel Ricciardo has seen the highest of highs and lowest of lows. At one point contending and some would argue being the top seat at Red Bull largely considered the apex of Formula 1 driving. To test driving cars for them and being on the b team Scuderia AlphaTauerie. AN commenting running a newscast on the races Daniel has made a point to stay in the sport he loves. 

From age 9 Daniel was racing karts with his dad and becoming involved in racing. He raced in multiple kart tournaments in Australia becoming the Australian Champion where he then got to watch a F1 race in Sydney and met drivers at age 16. This led him to more success as he was picked up by the Red Bull F3 team which helped him hone his skills in a tech team. He placed well within the F3 circuits putting him in contention for the championships but ultimately fell short by two points from the leader. Daniel next started his F1 career as a test driver for Redbull he did extremely well putting up times faster than the leaders regularly for fastest lap. This led him to get contracted to Hispania Racing where he had a decent season that put him on the Toro Rosso team for the 2012 F1 season.

From there on Ricardo found success within F1 driving for Red bull from 2014 – 2018 he achieved many podiums and first place finishes. He found this success through the Red bull car which was competitive every year allowing him to finish high within the constructors championship each year. This is why it was such a shock when he left Red Bull for Renault, another racing team with a less competitive car. Many people speculate on why he did this but one reason may be that he was overshadowed by his Red bull teammate Max Verstappen and Renault would give him the full star attention. Unfortunately this was not the case as he did not do well with Renault gracing the podium only a handful of times and performing poorly. This in led him to McClaren for a year in 2021- 2022 season where he had more lackluster races ultimately signing a contract to be Red bulls third driver in 2023 and fill a more brand image role within the team. 

Ultimately, Ricciardo has had a tumultuous career from bathing in the limelight of Red bull to eventually in 2024 getting cut from Alpha Tauri. What this really means for the Australian driver is up in the air as he has a record of getting picked up randomly and filling in many niche roles. One can only hope with his infectious adventure personality that he will be back in F1 competing with the best.