Ricciardo Retires from F1, Joins Ford as Ambassador

Daniel Ricciardo has seemingly confirmed his retirement from competitive motorsport, less than a year after his last Formula 1 drive. He announced in an open letter that he will be joining Ford in an ambassadorial role.

The 36-year-old Australian's last F1 race was the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix with Red Bull's junior RB team. He had joined the team, then known as AlphaTauri, mid-2023 after being dropped by McLaren in 2022. His comeback aimed to reclaim a seat at Red Bull, where he had raced successfully from 2014 to 2018. However, he didn't impress and was replaced by Liam Lawson before the end of 2024.

While speculation continued about Ricciardo racing in another series, his new role clarifies that his competitive career is over. He expressed his enduring love for anything with wheels and his pride in partnering with Ford as a Global Ford Racing Ambassador. He will work closely with Ford's racing division, with a focus on the Raptor brand.

Ford had hinted at the partnership before confirming Ricciardo's new role. The American manufacturer has a significant presence in motorsport, including ties to Red Bull's F1 program, a Le Mans hypercar effort, and a Dakar Rally entry. Ricciardo first met senior Ford executives in early 2023 while serving as Red Bull's reserve driver.

Ricciardo had hinted at retirement earlier this year, but this announcement is his clearest statement yet that his racing days are over. He holds the record for the most grand prix starts by an Australian driver in F1 history, with a total of 257.

Ricciardo's F1 career began in mid-2011 with the HRT outfit. He then spent two seasons at Red Bull's junior team, Toro Rosso. He was promoted to the senior Red Bull team in 2014, achieving three grand prix wins that year. He secured four more wins in the following seasons before moving to Renault in 2019. Despite disappointing results at Renault, his reputation in F1 remained high, leading him to McLaren in 2021. He secured the team's first win in nine years at the Italian Grand Prix that year. However, his performance declined in 2022, leading McLaren to release him early to make way for Oscar Piastri. He then returned to Red Bull as a reserve driver before replacing Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri mid-2023, marking his ultimately disappointing F1 swansong.