Ricciardo had a difficult first half of the 2021 season after joining McLaren , with Lando Norris scoring more than double the points he did despite the Australian’s greater experience in Formula 1.
Ricciardo himself called his first half of the year “almost ridiculous” but then bounced back with a big win at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, McLaren ‘s first since 2012.
One of the challenges Daniel Ricciardo faced was not being able to see his family and friends in Australia due to the country’s strict travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ricciardo revealed before the final race of the season that he would return to Australia for the winter, even if he had to self-quarantine and “stare at the ceiling of a hotel room for two weeks” because he hadn’t been able to see his parents since June 2020.
Reflecting on his season in an end-of-year interview on Motorsport.com, Ricciardo explained how not being able to see family or friends from Australia made it “probably the first time” he had missed home.
“The word ‘nostalgia’ sounds dramatic, but I certainly missed family and stuff,” Ricciardo said.
“Usually we’ve had the pretty lucky choice of, if I wanted Mom and Dad to be here, I’d say, ‘Guys, I’m going to buy you a plane ticket, you guys get on and come over.'”
“But not being able to do that was also frustrating, because it’s out of our control.”
Asked if he thought the human element that F1 drivers suffer from is sometimes overlooked, Ricciardo said: “Yes, it does. I think with anyone in the spotlight or someone on TV , sometimes from the outside you don’t see them as real people”.
“It’s like if you’re an actor, they’re like, ‘Oh, that’s Brad Pitt, he’s a super man. He could do anything.’ Like he doesn’t get sad or have emotions.”
“But as you also know, because you come to the races, you travel so much that you miss your loved ones. So to have that multiplied by ten is complicated.”
“I wouldn’t say it affects me when it comes to driving. But especially when something doesn’t go right, then it has an influence, because all you want is some of that family support and love.”
“And also when it’s not going well you can feel very lonely.”
Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren
“There are elements that I think would have helped. If they were here, they would have helped me get out of a bad mood or a low moment faster.”
Ricciardo was reluctant to attribute his difficult start to the season to missing his family, but said it “made the situation a bit more complicated” as he sought to be in the best possible state of mind.
“With anything, to have a good performance, you also have to be in a good frame of mind,” explained the McLaren driver.
“So if your outside life is going to be going well, your relationships, it’s all reflected in your training, your energy, your mood.”
“I’m used to not having the family around, but not for so long. And missing things and even my friends at home, not having them even to disconnect, to escape for a weekend or go anywhere, get away and not think in F1… I didn’t have that escape route either.”
“That made the routine of the first half of the year more demanding. So yeah, I think it was harder for me to be full of energy and positivity and all that kind of stuff.”
“I found a way to get by, but I had to work a lot harder to get there. And I think that was exhausting in itself.”
