Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he wishes he had remained at Red Bull after the 2018 Formula 1 season, reflecting on the missed opportunities that followed his departure and the possibility of challenging Max Verstappen for a world championship. Speaking on the Beyond The Grid podcast in 2026, the Australian acknowledged that leaving Milton Keynes sent his career down a more difficult path, even though he had originally sought a fresh challenge.
Ricciardo left Red Bull at the end of 2018 to join Renault, believing a change of environment could help him take the next step in his career. He subsequently raced for McLaren before returning to the Red Bull family with Racing Bulls, but his final Formula 1 appearance came at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.
Looking back, the 36-year-old remains uncertain about what might have happened had he continued alongside Verstappen. However, he believes he had the ability to compete with his former teammate and potentially fight for the championship.
Ricciardo believes he could have challenged Verstappen
Ricciardo was reluctant to claim he would definitely have become world champion had he stayed at Red Bull, recognising the level Verstappen has since reached.
“I certainly don’t want to say: ‘Yes, I would have become world champion if I had stayed.’ Max (Verstappen) has since proven that he is one of the best drivers of all time. Nor do I want to downplay that by saying: ‘Yes, I would have beaten Max and become world champion.’ After all, that would never have been an easy task.”
Nevertheless, Ricciardo remains confident in the performances he produced during his final season with the team. In 2018, he won multiple Grands Prix and secured pole positions, demonstrating that he could compete at the front of the field.
“I was still very capable back then,” he emphasised. “I have no doubt that I could have continued to compete with Max.”
Asked whether he could have fought for the world championship, Ricciardo was more decisive.
“If you ask me if I could have fought for a world title: yes. Was that my best option? Absolutely.”
He then summed up his lingering regret in a simple admission: “I wish I had stayed.”
Why Ricciardo chose to leave Red Bull
Ricciardo’s decision was driven by a desire to escape what he felt was becoming an overly comfortable situation. Despite his success with Red Bull, he wanted to test himself in a different environment rather than remain in familiar surroundings.
“When I left, I felt I was starting to become a bit comfortable and perhaps even complacent,” he explained. “There was a desire to try something different.”
That motivation means he is unwilling to categorise his departure as a straightforward mistake. At the time, Renault represented an opportunity to pursue a new challenge, while a move away from Verstappen also offered a different competitive environment.
“It is not that black and white,” Ricciardo acknowledged.
However, the subsequent years failed to deliver the results he had hoped for. Neither Renault nor McLaren provided a realistic route to a championship challenge, and his return to the Red Bull system ultimately proved temporary.
The alternative career Ricciardo still wonders about
Reflecting on the consequences of his decision, Ricciardo admitted that his career became considerably less straightforward after leaving Red Bull.
“After leaving Red Bull, my career took a somewhat winding and rough route,” he acknowledged.
That experience has left him wondering whether remaining in Milton Keynes would have given him a better opportunity to compete for victories and titles. Yet he also recognises that Verstappen’s development could have made the challenge increasingly difficult.
“It is that one unknown that I am so curious about how it would have turned out, although there is also a scenario where Max would simply have gotten better and better.”
Verstappen went on to establish himself as one of Formula 1’s leading drivers, making the prospect of a prolonged intra-team championship battle an intriguing but ultimately unanswerable question.
Ricciardo cannot know whether he would have matched that progression, but he remains convinced that staying offered a compelling opportunity.
“If I could relive it, would I stay? And am I incredibly curious about what would have happened? Yes. The answer is yes.”
For Ricciardo, the decision to leave Red Bull will remain one of the defining turning points of his career. His comments do not suggest he believes a world championship was guaranteed, but they make clear that he still wonders whether he walked away from his best chance of winning one.
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