Daniel Ricciardo has formally confirmed he has retired from racing after being named a world Ford Racing ambassador.
The 36-year-old Australian final raced 12 months in the past, his last begin in Components 1 coming for Racing Bulls on the Singapore Grand Prix. He was dropped in favor of Liam Lawson after that race and didn’t entertain a transfer to a different crew. He had beforehand been making an attempt to earn a chance to rejoin Purple Bull.
Whereas Ricciardo has largely steered away from the limelight since his last race, and dominated himself out of being thought-about for a Cadillac F1 seat in 2026, a weblog publish as a part of his newly-announced function with Ford Racing – the brand new identify for Ford Efficiency – confirmed he won’t be race in every other class in future.
“Whereas my racing days are behind me, my love for something with wheels will all the time stay excessive, and for that I’m proud to be partnering with Ford to change into a International Ford Racing Ambassador,” Ricciardo wrote. “I’m going to be working intently with the Ford Racing crew and particularly give attention to the wonderful Raptor model and way of life that Raptor has change into for a lot of of Ford’s prospects.
“So why now, and why me? Once I determined it was time to retire, I assumed lengthy and exhausting about discovering probably the most genuine method to keep related to the world of motorsports. For me, racing was all the time about having enjoyable. It made me completely happy and created recollections that can final a lifetime.”
Ricciardo retires from racing with a report of eight grand prix victories and 32 podiums from 257 begins in a profession that included stints at HRT, Toro Rosso, Purple Bull, Renault and McLaren, previous to his return to what had been Toro Rosso beneath its Racing Bulls guise.
Ricciardo twice completed within the prime three of the drivers’ championship, securing third place behind the dominant Mercedes drivers in 2014 and 2016 whereas at Purple Bull. His final win got here for McLaren 4 years in the past at Monza.
