In 2023, Daniel Ricciardo returned to Red Bull Racing, coming to individual races and helping the team work on the simulator. The Australian racer said he doubted his own speed in the first few hours behind the wheel of the simulator.
“I can’t talk about simulators in detail, as this is a rather sensitive subject, but each team has its own simulator, which is different from the others,” Daniel Riccardo told Racefans. – It is necessary not only to get used to the car, which is different for the teams, but also to the simulator.
On my first day at Red Bull I tried not only to get used to the car, but also to the simulator, and it took me more laps than I wanted. Probably, from the outside it could seem that I was somehow misdriving or that I had strange habits. I think that’s when, on the first day, I realized I lacked confidence.
I know I didn’t have the best results last year and didn’t think I was as confident as I could be. But I did not fully realize this, because I was completely immersed in the work. It wasn’t until the simulator that I got nervous and realized what exactly had affected my confidence.
For the first few hours I was like, “Wow… Have I really lost speed?” But in the afternoon I sat down and began to enjoy my work. At some point, Simon [Ренни] told me we can finish, and I asked to do a few more laps!
At the end of last year I wasn’t sure if I wanted to return to Formula 1, but already in March I realized I felt I wasn’t done racing and ending my career. It may sound selfish, but part of me doesn’t want my career to end this way.
I don’t care that much about legacy, but I feel like I have to go wrong, I feel like there’s still a lot I can do. And if I get a suitable opportunity, I will gladly take it.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
