Daniel Ricciardo gutted about Abu Dhabi GP reality amid hampered F1 return
Daniel Ricciardo does not want the 2023 Formula 1 season to end after getting into a groove in these final weeks of the year.
For most on the grid, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be the 22nd and final race weekend of the year. But it is only Ricciardo's seventh as a result of losing his McLaren seat last year and some unfortunate luck at Zandvoort.
The Aussie was called up by AlphaTauri when they dispensed with the struggling Nyck de Vries after the first two races of the year. But he only raced twice before crashing in practice at the Dutch Grand Prix, sustaining a broken hand.
He returned in Austin last month and has begun to find momentum across the last four full race weekends. An impressive seventh place in Mexico is certainly the highlight of his F1 return to date.
And while many of his rivals will be glad the season is ending, Ricciardo is disappointed that he cannot continue to build his momentum. "When I look back on this year, it's a year I never would have expected in so many ways," said the 34-year-old.
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"Obviously, I didn't expect to be racing at all this year, let alone going through everything else. So it's something that I'm definitely happy [about] - the place I am and what I feel inside my heart. Ultimately, I'm really in a happy place. And I'm happy being here, racing again, just fully hungry and motivated.
"It's probably the first off-season that I would not really want an off-season. I want to keep racing and keep a bit of the flow going. But also, the thought of having a little bit of a break and getting myself for next year, that excites me as well."
Ricciardo missed five races after suffering a broken hand at Zandvoort (Getty Images)After watching Ricciardo lose his love for F1 during the worst of his struggles in McLaren and falling off the grid, it was not unreasonable to predict that might have been the end of his career at the pinnacle of motorsport. Now that he knows himself that it wasn't, Ricciardo remains grateful for this opportunity.
He added: "It should be the coolest thing that we do, right? But when you've done it your whole life and obviously... when you're winning it's kind of easy, but when you're not you go through some other challenging moments where you can become a little bit frustrated with it. And then obviously on a competitive side your confidence takes a hit.
"So, then you're kind of asking yourself more questions. I think that also makes you question the love for it, then maybe you're not as hungry. I think having the time off gave me the answer of how much I do love it, ultimately. How much it means to me.
"And I think that's also where, coming into now, I feel like I got a second chance, a second wind, where it's like, 'Okay, I want to make sure this is my one and only priority, I'm going to put all my energy into this'.
"Because I just don't want to walk away one day and be like, 'Could I have done more?' or, 'That career slipped a little bit out of my fingers'. I'd hate to feel that.
"[It] gave me a new perspective, which is really cool. I'd say I'd recommend it to everyone. I mean, obviously everyone's on their own kind of path but I can't believe how much I've enjoyed the second half the season. It's pretty crazy what six months can do."
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