Daniel Ricciardo gave an honest assessment of his McLaren woes as he admitted he was often miserable behind his trademark smile.
The affable Aussie is among the most popular figures in Formula 1 thanks to his genial personality. He has had a starring role in the Netflix Drive to Survive series since its first season, which only served to boost his already massive fanbase.
But things have not gone so well for Ricciardo in the track in recent times. He joined McLaren hoping to help the team return to the front of the grid but, while Lando Norris was able to extract the maximum from a temperamental car last year, his more experienced team-mate floundered.
Ricciardo managed to maintain his smile in public for most of it, though there were moments which gave insight into his internal struggles. At the United States Grand Prix, long after it had been announced that he was to be axed by McLaren a year earlier than planned, he was fighting back tears on TV.
"I have no idea what to say," he admitted in a heart-wrenching interview. "Honestly it's 2022, it's been just so far off the pace that I simply can't lean on [the car], can't push, can't get the time out of it... I don't know how I'm continuing to continue because painful is an understatement."
Speaking to The Athletic about the effect the situation had on him, Ricciardo recalled: "The bad days would then flow into my weeks. Then I would have bad days as normal days when I'm not at the track. I was just not a good person at times to be around."
On the overall experience, he added: "I don't want to say I got humbled, because that's probably too dramatic. I didn't have my head up my a***. But in a way, I got humbled, and I did realise that, okay, I'm not perfect.
"If I was to get back on the grid, of course, the hunger would be filled to the top but it wouldn't be coming from a place where my ego or pride is getting in the way. It's accepting that it's not always going to be perfect. It's just a reality of life."
That said, Ricciardo has made it clear on a number of occasions that he will not accept any seat offer which comes his way for 2024. He maintains that he would only be interested in having a competitive car, which could severely limit what options might come his way.
