Daniel Ricciardo admitted it was a "gamble" to leave Red Bull at the end of 2018.
But the Aussie insists he has no regrets about the decision to move on, despite his success since having been limited. Ricciardo did a decent job with Renault before switching team again and, although his time with McLaren brought a race win at Monza last year, it mostly saw him struggle to get to grips with a tricky car.
He is now without a Formula 1 race seat for the 2023 season, having mutually agreed to end his McLaren career a year earlier than planned. Ricciardo has signed back with Red Bull as a reserve, on standby at some races next season while also taking the opportunity for some time away from the intensity of the paddock.
Given how things went after leaving Red Bull, Ricciardo would be forgiven for thinking he made the wrong choice, with the benefit of hindsight. But, even now, he still thinks he did the right thing by trying something new despite the success Red Bull have had since.
"I don't look at it like that because nothing is sure," he told F1's Beyond the Grid podcast. "If I stayed there the last four years, could I say I would have had more podiums than I've had? What have I had, maybe three or something? Yeah, I'm confident to say I would have had more podiums than I've had.
"But you just don't know. Obviously at the time I felt like it was right for me. I felt like I needed a change and I needed to kind of just remove myself a bit. If I continued [at Red Bull], would that urge have grown? Would I have become, let's say, more curious or less happy, or whatever?
"It's not a sure thing that it would have been great if I stayed. I don't look back and say: 'Man, I shouldn't have [left]'. But, of course, I can be honest with myself and say: 'Yeah, I took a little bit of a gamble on myself'."
Ricciardo knows it is a risk to be without a seat. Many F1 drivers have struggled to get back onto the grid after dropping off, though there are also plenty of recent examples of those who have come back – including Nico Hulkenberg who will race for Haas next season after three years without a regular driving role.
"I think right now, sitting here, I don't feel completely done," the Aussie added. "I think I'll want to get back on the grid, but time will tell. I'm not going to say: 'Yeah, I can have every seat I want', but ultimately it's my decision if I want to be back. That fire and everything I expect to feel, when the lights go out and I'm watching on the sidelines, that's up to me to answer."
