Ricciardo unsure of interest in other series: ‘IndyCar still scares me!’

Daniel Ricciardo says he’s unsure if racing in another series would bring him the fulfillment he craves that was lacking without being able to fight for top results in Formula 1.

Red Bull announced on Thursday that it has dropped Ricciardo in favor of Liam Lawson for the remainder of the 2024 season, with no suggestion the Australian could be in the frame for a place on the F1 grid in 2025. Speaking before his future was officially confirmed, Ricciardo admitted he has considered other racing categories in the past and could be interested with the F1 door closed, although he has nothing specific in mind.

“IndyCar still scares me!” Ricciardo said. “I mean, I’ve thought about it because I also thought about it a couple of years ago when I knew that I wasn’t going to start the ’23 season. I don’t know. I know I’m still a competitor. I know I still have a lot of fire in me. Maybe that itch is scratched doing something else, I don’t know. We’ll see.

“It’s hard. Even talking about being in the sport [F1] and fighting for even a 10th place every now and then… It’s maybe the same with doing another series, and no disrespect to other series -- I’m a fan of NASCAR and a lot of other forms of motorsport -- but because I’ve been there and experienced the highest of highs, will I get true fulfillment doing something else?

“No guarantee I’ll be awesome doing something else. Is that actually going to scratch the itch and give me what I want? I don’t know. I’d probably say more no than yes.”

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However, while Ricciardo will be weighing up his interest in racing in other categories now that his future has been confirmed, he says his brief spell away from full-time F1 after leaving McLaren means he has no fear of a life outside the sport.

“Oh, outside racing, yeah [there’s fulfilling interests]. Because I’ve already experienced a bit of it, I don’t have a fear of not swiping into the paddock. I’ve loved it and it is great, but I’ve also fortunately made friends with other athletes over the years that have been in a similar position. What does kind of phase two of life look like?

“I think there’s a lot to do, a lot of opportunities. It’s not anything I’m scared of.”