Daniel Ricciardo has explained how he is going through \u201ca bit of self-exploration\u201d after leaving the world of Formula 1, with the Australian \u201ctrying to figure out who I am\u201d beyond racing.<\/p>\n
Ricciardo dropped off the F1 grid following the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix<\/a>, leaving him with a career total of 257 starts, three pole positions, eight victories, 32 podium finishes and more than 1,300 points.<\/p>\n Since then, Ricciardo has kept a relatively low profile, only occasionally making appearances at rounds of his own karting series<\/a> and sharing few reflections on an F1 stint that featured time at HRT, Toro Rosso (later AlphaTauri\/RB), Red Bull, Renault and McLaren.<\/p>\n Speaking in a rare post-F1 interview at Ray White\u2019s Connect conference in his native Australia, Ricciardo shared more on what he has been doing since walking away from the sport just under a year ago \u2013 and some of the realisations that have followed.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I haven\u2019t been shaving my face,\u201d Ricciardo, who recently turned 36, initially joked. \u201cThe beard is my comfort right now.\u201d<\/p>\n On a more serious note, he continued: \u201cThis year has been a bit of self-exploration. I lived this crazy high-speed life for so long and this year I\u2019ve sat into a little bit of stillness.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of time. I\u2019ve done some hiking. I was in Alaska a few weeks ago and didn\u2019t get mauled by a grizzly [bear], which was a bonus.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been trying to figure out who I am other than this race car driver. I\u2019ve come to appreciate the little thing[s] more and the meaning of the importance of family and friends.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always been driven and that sometimes leads you to being selfish, so I\u2019m trying to learn to be a bit more selfless and become a better listener.\u201d<\/p>\n With that extra time to reflect, Ricciardo took it all the way back to his very first steps in motorsport \u2013 and admitted that he still finds it difficult to believe some of the successes<\/a> he went on to experience.<\/p>\n \u201c[My] childhood was great,\u201d the Perth-born racer said. \u201cI was always driven to do something that scared me a bit.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason I got into racing was because no one was really doing it. It was my chance to do something a little bit cooler than everyone else.<\/p>\n \u201cI was just showing off, but showing off has got me to a really good place in life.\u201d<\/p>\n