Daniel Ricciardo appears to have taken his F1 exit in good stride, with the former Red Bull VCARB driver pictured wearing a tongue-in-cheek ‘I’m retired’ hat in a light-hearted social media post.
Ricciardo was dropped by VCARB in the aftermath of last month’s Singapore Grand Prix, with Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson stepping up for the final six races of the F1 2024 season.
Daniel Ricciardo jokes ‘I’m retired’ in cheeky social media post
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
The news of Ricciardo’s exit came after the popular Australian appeared to contest his last F1 race in Singapore, where he was treated to a guard of honour in the paddock.
PlanetF1.com revealed last month that Red Bull have offered Ricciardo the chance to maintain his ties with the team with an ambassadorial-type role, with adviser Helmut Marko claiming the team are keen to capitalise on his popularity in the United States.
However, Marko went on to suggest that Ricciardo, who has been linked with a move to US-based series NASCAR, could decline the offer if he decided to draw a line underneath his racing career.
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As F1 prepares to return to action at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, an image of surfaced on social media of Ricciardo with two friends including Adam Cianciarulo, the former motorcross and supercross racer.
In the post uploaded to Cianciarulo’s Instagram profile, Ricciardo is pictured wearing a baseball cap, which reads: “I’m retired. Having a good time is my job.”
PlanetF1.com understands that the hat was just a bit of fun, with Ricciardo’s post-F1 plans yet to be decided.
Ricciardo has tentatively returned to social media over recent weeks, posting a series of behind-the-scenes images from the Singapore GP weekend last week.
That was Ricciardo’s first appearance on social media since he issued a short statement via Instagram after his Red Bull VCARB exit was made official, with the 35-year-old insistent that he “wouldn’t change” anything from his career.
It read: “I’ve loved this sport my whole life. It’s wild and wonderful and been a journey.
“To the teams and individuals that have played their part, thank you. To the fans who love the sport sometimes more than me haha thank you.
“It’ll always have its highs and lows but it’s been fun and truth be told I wouldn’t change it.
“Until the next adventure.”
Ricciardo has left F1 with an overall record of eight victories, 32 podiums, three pole positions and 17 fastest laps from 257 grand prix starts.
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