After two punishing years at McLaren, during which he won the 2021 Italian Grand Prix but otherwise struggled to get on par with Lando Norris, Ricciardo decided to take a sabbatical from F1.
The 33-year-old is still keeping his foot in the door, signing a deal to become Red Bull's third driver, a role which mainly involves simulator and marketing duties but would also keep him in the frame to test its F1 cars during the year.
With Red Bull's global reach and its expansive racing portfolio, Ricciardo could also have several opportunities to go racing, but the Australian says he is "not really looking at doing anything seriously" as he wants to enjoy a mental break from competition.
"I would think there would be some flexibility if I was really pushing on something that I really wanted to do. And if Red Bull would get involved, then you know, maybe it's a win-win," Ricciardo said.
"But right now, I'm not really looking at doing anything seriously or competitively.
"I also want that mental time off because competition is awesome, I really do love it. But it's a lot as well.
"And if I was to step into something else, inevitably, there would be a level of expectation, so I'd want to make sure that I could just have fun with it.
"This year is a chance for me just to take a bit more of a light-hearted approach on things and ease off, so I think if I went into something that was going to put a lot of pressure on me, I'm not sure I would actually enjoy it."
After spending a winter without gearing up for a new F1 season, a first for him in over a decade, Ricciardo is convinced he made the right decision of hitting the pause button, although he will be building back up to full fitness for when Red Bull needs to call upon his services.
"Being here at the launch does excite me and it is a cool feeling, but I'm also really happy to be kind of taking the year off. Currently, where I sit, it does really feel right," he explained.
"I feel like the holiday is kind of winding down, I do feel I've had close to enough time off. I'm going to the Super Bowl next weekend and then I'll start to probably get back into a bit more of a regime and a bit more training.
"I'll see what happens over the course the next couple months, but I don't think anything needs to be rushed.
"I obviously need to stay sharp enough that if I do need to jump in spontaneously, then you know, I'm not 20 kilos overweight..."
