Ricciardo not looking for other competitions: 'I want to have that break'

When it was announced in mid-2022 that McLaren was not continuing with Ricciardo, it seemed for some time that the Australian would leave Formula 1 permanently. Ricciardo insisted that he had the plan to return to the forefront of the sport in 2024, and so people began to wonder what that should be. It was soon expected that Ricciardo might seek refuge in other competitions, for example in American championships like IndyCar or NASCAR. Although it is now known that Ricciardo will become a 'third driver' at Red Bull Racing, speculation still remains as to whether the Australian might not also appear on the race track in other ways.

It is not unusual for reserve drivers to be active in other competitions. Nyck de Vries was on reserve at Mercedes for a long time while competing in Formula 2 and Formula E. Ferrari has Antonio Giovinazzi as a reserve driver next year, who will also race in the World Endurance Championship at the same time. And alongside Ricciardo, Red Bull has Formula 2 driver Liam Lawson lined up as a reserve driver.

'I want to be able to have fun with it'

Ricciardo, however, is not sitting that out for now. At the press briefing, he was asked if he was actively looking, and his answer was clear. "Right now I’m not looking at anything serious or competitively, I just also want that mental time off, because competition is awesome, I really do love it, but it’s a lot as well. I think if I was to step into something else, inevitably there would be a level of expectation and I’d want to make sure that I could just have fun with it."

"That’s really what this year is as well, it’s just a chance for me really to take a bit more of a lighthearted approach on things and ease off," Ricciardo continued. "So if I went into something that was going to put a lot of pressure on me, I don’t know, I'm not sure if I'd actually enjoy it or if that’s what 2023 is asking for from me. So yeah for now, not really."