Daniel Ricciardo addresses whether his marketing and PR value has undermined his value as a top driver

Daniel Ricciardo believes his marketing and PR value has not undermined his worth as a talent in the sport. As much as his image has grown over the years, the Australian was quick to state that he was hungry for success on track as he was in the past. Speaking in the press conference ahead of the 2023 US Grand Prix in Austin, the 34 year old addressed the issues with the PR and marketing narrative clouding his worth as a top class driver in the sport.

Having enjoyed success with Red Bull in the past, Daniel Ricciardo’s slump in performance at McLaren overshadowed his mantle as a driver and past glory. However, his popularity with Drive to Survive and as a character in the sport grew. Given his marketability, he recently drew flack from 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve who felt that he would not recommend a young aspiring F1 driver to smile in commercials like the Australian but encourage them to achieve accolades on the track itself.

Asked by Sportskeeda if the narrative surrounding his marketing and PR value clouded his worth as a talent in the sport, Daniel Ricciardo said:

“I would say, in short, no. I think, look, we've all certainly… all of our profiles have grown, in the last few years, in particular, since Drive to Survive. So we've all kind of felt a bit of that. I think just me with my personality, and also just having some fun with the sport. Yeah, that probably got a little bigger as well, because of that. It draws a few LOLs every now and then but I think generally, first and foremost, I certainly see myself as a race car driver, not an entertainer or anything like that. It is funny sometimes, people come up to me like: ‘you were great in that season’ and I’m: ‘racing season – or Drive to Survive season?’ So yeah, for sure, to some, we’re maybe not all viewed as race car drivers. But yeah, it's just it's part of it.”

He added:

“But I think we're all also, as I said, building profiles and a bit of a brand, but it's not anything that's taken away from the racing side of it. And that's first and foremost. And I think that's, for sure, through all of this, it can maybe get away from you a little bit of time so me coming back into it this year and having a little bit of that time off, it certainly made me kind of just figure out what I'm about, I guess, moving forward and how I want to go racing. Probably just removing a few things and kind of going back to a little bit of the basics. And yeah, just making sure that I am seen as a race car driver who's still hungry and determined and not someone who's just here for a good time.”

Once considered a champion in waiting and one of the few F1 drivers to have beaten reigning champion Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo was a force to reckon with at Red Bull. His career trajectory is that of intrigue, particularly after his stint with Renault and McLaren. While his personality grew popular, his performance curve was on a downward trend. As he makes his comeback hoping to get his old seat back at Red Bull, the question remains as to how the Australian would have fared had he never left the Milton Keynes squad. Back in the Red Bull family, the 34 year old has regained his mental confidence after the slump in performance at McLaren. However, upon his comeback the question remains if he can still perform like he did in the past.

Answering Sportskeeda’s question on whether his PR and marketing had overtaken his worth as a driver, Daniel Ricciardo was quick to dismiss the suggestion. Hailed the most popular West Australian in the world, the Perth born driver felt ‘Drive to Survive’ and the popularity of the sport had boosted all the drivers and their images. Asserting that he wishes to be known as a talent and not for his image, the former Red Bull F1 driver expressed his hunger to get back to the top. Having raced only twice in the 2022 season after replacing Nyck De Vries in Hungary, the Austin weekend will be his third race weekend this year. Returning after healing from his injury, the sprint format gives him little room to acclimatize himself to his new office.

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Daniel Ricciardo claims hand injury was worse than expected after Zandvoort

Having broken a metacarpal bone on his hand in a free practice session at the Zandvoort circuit, Daniel Ricciardo had to undergo surgery to fix the injury. Missing out on four race weekends since, the Australian has had a long recovery until Austin. Despite early prognosis of his injury suggesting it was an injury that he could bounce back from easily, the Australian explained that it was discovered during surgery in Spain that the injury was worse than expected. As he returned to Singapore for engineering purposes, the former Red Bull driver explained that he was there to understand the heavily upgraded Alpha Tauri car.

Asked about the recovery process for his injury, Daniel Ricciardo said:

“Well, I would say, tougher than I thought. But I'm probably a bit of a wuss as well. So maybe not tougher than I thought! But yeah, I think it was really just when the accident happened, and we were aware of what bone broke, they seemed fairly OK with that bone, in terms of ‘oh yeah, it's a relatively easy one’, to let's say, fix. But then, yeah, when we got the surgery done in Spain, we got further checks done and it was just the break was a lot worse than it first seemed. So I think that's what took a lot longer for the recovery, and probably made it a little more painful for myself.”

Explaining his role behind the scenes on the pit wall and in the garage in Singapore, Daniel Ricciardo explained:

“So, I went out to Singapore where they had some pretty big updates. And that was actually a pretty positive weekend for the team. So that looked good. And the drivers were saying that they could feel some good differences. So yeah, I'm expecting a car that is a little stronger than where I left it. But I mean, it's going to be the third race I've done this year, so I'm still very green for this season. But in saying that, I’m not using that as an excuse, but yeah, everything kind of still feels new to me.”

Racing for the third weekend in 2022 at the Circuit of the Americas, the sprint format weekend does not make the job easier for Daniel Ricciardo. However, with a contract for the 2024 season secured with AlphaTauri, the Western Australian has time to regain his mojo. With Sergio Perez struggling against Max Verstappen in the 2023 season, there has been speculation suggesting that the former Red Bull driver could return to his former seat earlier than 2025, which remains his target. If the 34 year old were to race with Red Bull in 2024, that would mean his next five races with AlphaTauri would have to be extremely competitive against his young Japanese teammate Yuki Tsunoda.