Daniel Ricciardo has been told that other opportunities will arise despite being banished outside of the Formula 1 grid.
Ricciardo has lost his RB drive and will be replaced by Liam Lawson for the remainder of the F1 season.
With no contract for 2025, it seems that the Australian veteran’s career in F1 is finished.
“He is not performing to what he’s capable of,” ex-Haas boss Guenther Steiner said on the Red Flags podcast.
“In Singapore he was out of Q1 while Yuki Tsunoda went into Q3 in the same car.
“I don’t think it would hurt him personally if he left.
“He’s 35. He can do other things, even in motor racing. He is a cool dude.
“He has done a lot of stuff and needs to be proud. He doesn’t need to feel broken. Move on with your life, Danny.
“He made good money. Go to the ranch in Western Australia. Go there, retire there a bit. He doesn’t have to worry.
“Something will come. One door closes…”
Ricciardo has not yet indicated what he will do next after losing his F1 race seat.
The opportunity will reportedly exist to remain within the Red Bull driver pool.
Whether Ricciardo could be attracted by other motorsport series remains to be seen.
Steiner has issued a reminder that his recent struggles with McLaren and RB came after a glorious period which established Ricciardo as a top driver.
“He was a good racing car driver, he won races,” Steiner said.
“He was racing with Max and decided to move on. It worked for a while.”
Steiner said of Ricciardo alongside Lando Norris at McLaren: “Having a teammate who beats him…
“Like Nico Hulkenberg, when he was at Renault with Danny, he almost finished his career. Danny almost finished Hulkenberg’s career.
“But now look at Hulkenberg, he runs circles around Danny.
“This sport is so on the edge. The pressure which got to Danny is that everybody was watching him.
“Maybe he wasn’t prepared for that.”