With the 2022 season officially complete, Daniel Ricciardo can start to put his feet up and prepare plans for his 2023 sabbatical, which he will spend as Red Bull’s development driver.
The role will see the Aussie complete some testing and simulator work, as well as a considerable amount of marketing stuff; for example, demo runs.
Whilst he is still wanting to race full-time and is hoping to return to doing so in 2024, the 33-year-old has admitted that it’ll be nice to “spend some time away” from the sport, although, he will still be present at “maximum” 12 races next season.
“I still want to race,” the Australian told formel1.de, “but personally, it will be nice for me to spend some time away from travelling and, let’s say, everything else.
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“Will I attend some races? Vegas, for sure. I will invite myself there. Then, Australia, of course. That goes without saying.
“It will be a maximum of a dozen races,” Ricciardo added.
Whilst Ricciardo seems content with what he’ll be doing next season, former team-mate Max Verstappen has spoken out about the Australian driver’s career.
The pair were partners at Red Bull from the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix until the end of 2018, where Ricciardo then opted to switch to Renault for two years and most recently McLaren.
Given his lack of success in the last four years whilst racing in the midfield, excluding his victory at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, Verstappen believes the Honey Badger should’ve remained at Red Bull rather than switched to Renault.
“It would have been better for Daniel if he had stayed longer at Red Bull,” Verstappen told the Dutch magazine Formule 1.
“I spoke to him about it. It was also about feeling comfortable somewhere because at some point that was no longer the case for him.
“But I know that everyone at Red Bull only wanted the best. Instead of leaving, he could have spoken to the team about it. But it happened the way it did.”
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Verstappen added, though, that at least the fan favourite is remaining somewhat in the paddock, but that a 2024 seat could be a challenge for him due to being “as good as your last race”.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about performance,” said the Dutchman.
“Daniel has certainly delivered that in the past, but in Formula 1 you are only as good as your last race.”