“I do feel, let’s say, at peace with it,” added Ricciardo, who came back to F1 with RB midway through 2023 after being dropped by McLaren. “At some point, it’ll come for all of us… I think also, I tried to get back into Red Bull, it didn’t work out, so then I also have to say, ‘Okay, what else am I ultimately doing here and trying to achieve?’… Let’s say maybe the fairytale ending didn’t happen, but I also have to look back on what it’s been. Fourteen or so years and I’m proud.
“I think when you’ve experienced the highs of winning, you can only fight for P10 for so long. There is nothing like that feeling, and if that no longer is possible, and if it is becoming a little harder – that’s the truth: I was able to do some moments of maybe greatness this year, but it was trickier to do it week in, week out. Maybe that’s [being] 35, maybe that’s the competition’s getting better and better. Who knows?”
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After being voted Driver of the Day, meanwhile, Ricciardo was spotted taking his time getting out of the cockpit of his RB in parc ferme, the Australian appearing to savour the final moments with the car after a gruelling 62-lap race.
Asked what had been going through his mind, an emotional Ricciardo replied: “A lot of emotions, because – look I’m aware it could be it, and I think it’s also just [being] exhausted after the race. So it’s like a flood of many emotions and feelings and exhaustion.
“The cockpit is something that I got very used to for many years,” added the veteran of 257 Grand Prix starts, tearing up. “I just wanted to savour the moment.”
