Daniel Ricciardo has admitted his selfish attitude got the better of him during the end of his Red Bull tenure.
The Australian who rejoined the team ahead of the 2023 season as a reserve driver, spoke about his shock decision to depart the team following the 2018 season.
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After young teammate Max Verstappen finished higher in the drivers standings than him that season, Ricciardo shocked the Formula 1 world when he announced his departure.
The 33-year-old signed a two-year deal to join French outfit Renault where he spent two seasons before switching again to join McLaren.
Ricciardo failed to emulate the heights he reached behind the wheel of the Red Bull as he meddled around in the middle of the field.
He broke through in his first McLaren season to record his eighth Grand Prix victory, but lacklustre displays saw the team cut his contract a year short.
Without a seat on the grid the Perth native is hoping to recapture the love and drive for the sport before obtaining a seat down the track.
But his time away has allowed him to reflect on how he handled things throughout his career, saying his self-entitlement affected him at Red Bull.
“I come at it from a different point of view now,” he said to The Athletic.
“Even looking back at 2018 … it was just all about me, me, me.
“In all these young drivers, I see it. That’s just how we are.
“At times, I reacted a little too selfishly to a bad weekend.
“Now, I’m back with the team, but I’d say it’s a very selfless role.
“I’ve got no hidden agenda. There’s no ego. I’m not too proud.
“I’m trying to build myself back up.”
Ricciardo is aiming to get back behind the wheel and rejoin the grid with his love for the sport growing after dark times at McLaren.
He opened up on the failures of his time at McLaren, admitting he was “humbled” by his two years of misery with the Woking-based outfit.
“I don’t want to say I got humbled, because that’s probably too dramatic,” Ricciardo told the publication.
“I didn’t have my head up my a***. But in a way, I got humbled, and I did realise that OK, I’m not perfect.
“If I was to get back on the grid, of course the hunger would be filled to the top.
“But it wouldn’t be coming from a place where my ego or pride is getting in the way.
“It’s accepting that it’s not always going to be perfect. It’s just a reality of life.”
Ricciardo said he isn’t fully committed to a comeback, but says the feeling is “brewing” inside of him.
“I’m trying to put myself in the mindset of, if I was competing, how would I feel? Where’s my energy at?” he said.
“I want all those answers now so I can get into next year with a clear plan.
“I’m glad I’m not foaming at the mouth (at not being on the grid), because then I’d probably be questioning s***, ‘should I have taken the year off?’
“But it is brewing.”
Ricciardo noted that regardless of the state of his racing career in an ever-uncertain Formula One world, he’s happier than he’s ever been, and that the people around him have noticed the return of his trademark Colgate smile after a tough 2022.
“The bad days would (last year) then flow into my weeks,” he said.
“Then I would have bad days as normal days when I’m not at the track.
“I was just not a good person at times to be around.
“I feel it (being happier in 2023).
“But when other people that know me well recognise it, I guess it’s true.”
