Daniel Ricciardo sees himself as more mature in Formula One after understanding the complexity of the sport "as a whole" in relation to world championship contests
At 31 years of age, Daniel Ricciardo has extensive experience in Formula 1. He has 217 GP, eight wins, three pole-positions, and 32 podiums. But it is quite true that in the last two years the Australian had many difficulties, even though he won at Monza in 2021. Living an uncertainty about his future at McLaren, #3 uses all his seasons in the category to understand the sport as a whole. And one of the biggest qualities he sees in that is how mature he has become.
"Every year, obviously, I believed I was good enough to do that [win a title] and obviously I didn't," Ricciardo said in an interview with Crash.net. "I know there are so many variables in this sport and so many things need to go together, it's not tennis, it's not like if I'm hitting the ball better that day I'm going to win the match, it's not so black and white," he explained.
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"I've probably just gained a bit of maturity to understand that the sport is much more complex than just you being the best driver on that particular day, so it's knowing that there's more to it and I'm not the controller of this game," he added.
Without a doubt, Daniel's two best years were 2014 and 2016, when he finished third at the end of the championship both times. Although he grew a lot at Red Bull with his results, the driver never managed to actually become a champion. And for him, this is just another demonstration of how things are not so simple.
"I don't have a defeatist mentality. In 2014 and 2016, I felt I had the material to become world champion, but I came third in the championship. And there is no guarantee that I will become one. I would hate to look back after a 15-year career, for example, with remorse, anger or heartbreak. I would hate to look back and say 'I didn't become champion, so that's too bad,'" he stated.
"[My F1 career] has been fun, I've seen the world, so there are other little things to take away from that, but would it be better if I was a champion? Absolutely," he closed.