On Sept. 26, 2024 it was announced that Daniel Ricciardo would leave the RB Formula One Team immediately and would be replaced by Liam Lawson for the remainder of the season. Lawson previously stood in for Ricciardo when he suffered a broken hand after crashing during a practice in 2023. Lawson made his Formula 1 debut at Zandvoort, racing for RB for a total of five grand prix before Ricciardo returned. Ricciardo’s departure comes at a shaky time as there are only two unfilled seats left for the 2025 season and five current drivers without contracts. Although Ricciardo hasn’t officially announced his retirement, his inconsistent and low scoring performance this year makes his future in F1 uncertain. 

Ricciardo, born in Australia in 1989, is known as the “Honey Badger” – fiercely competitive on the inside while always smiling and joking around in and out of the paddock. The Aussie also
popularized the ‘Shoey’ in F1 after drinking champagne out of his shoe to celebrate his podium finishes. 

Prior to Ricciardo’s partnership with RB, he drove for Scuderia Toro Rosso, Renault, Alpha Tauri and McLaren. The Australian started off as a test driver for Red Bull in 2011, before being loaned out to replace HRT Formula 1 Team driver Narain Karthikeyan mid-season. During his F1 debut with HRT, Ricciardo did not score any points during the last 11 races of the season. 

Ricciardo then signed with Toro Rosso alongside Jean-Éric Vergne for a completely new lineup in 2012. They both resigned for the 2013 season, with Ricciardo scoring 10 points in his first season with STR, and doubling it the next year while finishing a personal best of seventh place twice. His improvement in performance was reflected in the driver standings, as he jumped from 18th to 14th in the Driver’s Championship. 

Impressed with his performance, Red Bull Racing Renault signed Ricciardo alongside the four time champion Sebastian Vettel. Learning from his experience at HRT and Toro Rosso, Ricciardo finished second in qualifying and second in the Australian Grand Prix, the first race of the season, before being disqualified due to a technical violation. After a "did not finish" result in the second grand prix, Ricciardo slowly inched up the standings, finishing fourth for the next two races and third for the following two before his maiden win at the Canadian Grand Prix. His impressive season only continued as he never finished outside the top ten – except for another retirement due to a broken car part – and won two more times consecutively at the Hungarian and Belgian Grands Prix for a total of eight podium finishes. Ricciardo’s admirable 2014 season with Red Bull landed him in third place in the Driver’s Championship, two places ahead of his teammate Vettel. His efforts also helped land Red Bull in second place in the Constructors Championship. 

For the 2015 season, it was announced that Sebastian Vettel would leave the Red Bull team, with Daniil Kvyat taking his place. Red Bull debuted a new car for the 2015 season and Ricciardo struggled to maintain his output from the previous year. While consistently finishing in the top ten, the Aussie only had two podium finishes – neither of them a win. He fell to eighth in the Driver’s Championship, behind Kvyat, and Red Bull also dropped to fourth in the Constructors Championship. 

The 2016 season saw child prodigy Max Verstappen join the Red Bull team alongside Ricciardo and a much more competitive car. Ricciardo was able to partially return to his former glory, only winning the Malaysian Grand Prix, but tying his eight time podium finish in 2014 and pocketing four fastest laps. During his podium finish at the Germany Grand Prix, Ricciardo debuted his “Shoey” celebration and repeated it after his win with Verstappen who also made the podium. Ricciardo’s improvement restored his third place finish in the Driver’s Championship, two places ahead of Verstappen, and another second place finish for Red Bull in the Constructors Championship. 

Ricciardo’s 2017 season was similar to the previous one, scoring nine podiums and one win at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He never strayed below sixth place, but the impressive racing was dulled by sustaining six DNFs. The “Honey Badger” finished in fifth place in the Driver’s Championship, in front of Verstappen who finished sixth, both contributing to Red Bull’s third place constructors finish.

Ricciardo’s 2018 season saw two podiums – both first place finishes–in the Chinese and Monocan Grand Prix, eight DNFs but never finishing below sixth. This was the first time Ricciardo finished behind a teammate while driving for Red Bull, as he ended in sixth and Verstappen in fourth in the driver standings. Both of their performances helped Red Bull’s consistent finish in third. 

In the middle of the 2018 season, the Aussie announced his shocking departure from his illustrious career at Red Bull to join the Renault F1 Team alongside new teammate Nico Hulkenberg for the 2019 season. In similar fashion to his time at Red Bull, Ricciardo suffered five DNFs and one disqualification, recording slower times throughout the season. He had no podiums in 2019 and only scored points in eight of the 21 races. Although Ricciardo finished five places ahead of Hulkenberg, his ninth place Driver’s Championship standing was a disappointing end to the season. 

Renault switched lineups after replacing Hulkenberg and pairing Ricciardo with Esteban Ocon. The Aussie’s only podiums in 2020 came at the Eifel and Emilia-Romagna Grands Prix, finishing in third on both occasions – a far cry from his only DNF to start the season. Consistently finishing within the points, Ricciardo improved his driver standings to fifth, seven places in front of Ocon, carrying Renault to a fifth place constructors finish.  

After his two year stint at Renault, Ricciardo signed on to the McLaren Mercedes team to join Lando Norris after his previous teammate Carlos Sainz was contracted to join Scuderia Ferrari for the 2021 season. Ricciardo finished out of the points on nine occasions, but his only podium came with his only win of the season at the Italian Grand Prix. The McLaren drivers helped bring the team to a fourth place constructors finish, with Norris finishing in sixth and Ricciardo not far behind in eighth in the Driver’s Championship. 

With the same lineup at McLaren for the 2022 season, both Norris and Ricciardo’s performances took a dip. The team finished in fifth place in the Constructors Championship, with Norris also finishing in fifth in the Driver’s Championship and Ricciardo six places behind in eleventh. Ricciardo had no podium finishes and only scored points in eight of the 22 races in another disappointing season. 

McLaren Chief Executive Officer Zak Brown commented on Ricciardo’s performance, stating that he did not meet  “his or our expectations, as far as what we were expecting.” Wanting a change and to return to his past success, Ricciardo left McLaren and went back to Red Bull, but this time as a reserve driver for the 2023 season. 

Scuderia AlphaTauri, who shares the same owner as Red Bull, released one of their drivers Nyck de Vries in his rookie F1 season after he failed to score any points in the first ten races of the season. Red Bull lent out their third driver Ricciardo to replace de Vries, and he was set to start the 2023 season at the Hungarian Grand Prix alongside his new AlphaTauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Ricciardo didn’t fare much better than de Vries, only scoring once at the Mexican Grand Prix, finishing 17th in the driver’s standings. Tsunoda finished in 14th place, with AlphaTauri in eighth in the team rankings. 

Renewing his contract with the team, now named RB Formula One Team, alongside Tsunoda, the pair improved slightly in the 2024 season. After the first 18 races of the year, Ricciardo sits in 14th and Tsunoda in 12th, but RB jumped to sixth place in the constructor’s standings. In an unsuccessful comeback, the “Honey Badger” has only scored in four of the 18 races, prompting the team to let Liam Lawson drive for the rest of the season instead. But in his last race this season at the Singapore Grand Prix, Ricciardo went out with a bang, earning the fastest lap and Driver of the Day.  

Throughout his whole career, Ricciardo has always radiated positivity and laughter,  and never let any racing drama affect his personality. He started his own line of merchandise named “ENCHENTÉ” that focused more on pure fashion than motorsports. Ricciardo’s perseverance through the tough seasons struck a chord with F1 fans, which was made even more apparent after becoming a fan favorite in Netflix’s “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” documentary, which gave a behind the scenes look into the F1 world. While many fans have expressed frustration regarding Red Bull’s handling of his exit, calling the announcement of his departure just days after his last race at the Singapore Grand Prix  “cowardly and embarrassing,” there has also been an outpouring of love and support for Ricciardo on social media. Like Sky Sports commentator Ted Kravitz said: “Thank you to Daniel Ricciardo. Thank you for that smile, thank you for the shoeys … Thanks for the Enchenté merch … Thank you for being honest. Thank you for being a gentleman and thank you for being a proper great Aussie bloke Daniel Ricciardo.” Ricciardo has left a lasting impact on the sport, and his presence will be missed if the 2025 grid does not include the “Honey Badger.”