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F1 legend Coulthard's brutal take: Did wealth and fame destroy Ricciardo?
SEN • August 7th, 2025 2:55 pm
Did the fame and wealth that came with being a top Formula One driver cause the decline of Daniel Ricciardo’s career?
It certainly played a role, according to former driver David Coulthard, who has given a brutal assessment of the Australian driver’s rapid fall from grace.
A Red Bull prodigy between 2014-2018, Ricciardo won seven races with the team before defecting to Renault in a move that stunned the paddock.
It was a short-lived tenure which produced no victories before Ricciardo moved to McLaren where, despite winning one more race, he was consistently outperformed by teammate Lando Norris.
Asked for his thoughts on where things went wrong for Ricciardo, Coulthard was brutal.
“You see some drivers who evolve well,” he said on the High Performance Podcast.
“You see others who get affected by the success, and that affects their trajectory.
“I think Daniel Ricciardo would be an example of that.
“One of the bright young talents that arrived in Formula 1, one of the best overtakers of his generation, always exciting to watch.
“And then just suddenly, as he left Red Bull, Renault was OK, McLaren, Lando outperformed him in both years, even though Daniel won a race.
“And then it never really worked out again at AlphaTauri (now known as Racing Bulls).
“Now he’s happily retired, I assume wealthy individual. But it all felt like it was condensed into too short a period.”
There was a slim hope Ricciardo would return to Red Bull to replace Sergio Perez, but as his time with AlphaTauri became more and more frustrating, he was ultimately replaced by Liam Lawson and his career came to an abrupt end.
“Life, you gain baggage as you go through life,” Coulthard continued.
“If you’re poor, that’s a Tesco bag with a few clothes inside. If you’re rich, it’s a Louis Vuitton, but it all has to be carried.
“So, whether it’s a baggage of wealth or whether it’s baggage of success, or whether it’s the baggage of poverty and difficulty, it’s got to be carried to try and get to the next opportunity.
“And for some people, maybe they’re not able to let go and actually take themselves back to the moment that was the freest point, that saw their performances at the highest level.”
