Daniel Ricciardo, in an interview with GQSports, has revealed details of his life away from the circuit and his future plans with Ford.

The Australian has been retired from Formula One since the end of 2024, following his final race at the Singapore Grand Prix with Racing Bulls, where he also bagged the fastest lap.

Now, Ricciardo is the Global Ambassador for Ford Racing. Ford will also be working closely with Red Bull in 2026, a team which Ricciardo scored multiple race victories for during his tenure with the team.

Ricciardo said: "Life has changed, a lot, but it's been good. I've had a lot of time to myself, doing things that I didn't really get a chance to do when I was racing and travelling so much, and that's a lot of time with family and friends, so I enjoyed it a lot."

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

The Australian was then asked about his favourite car. He said: "I would say, favourite F1 car, was probably 2016, I loved that car." The RB12 was driven by both Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, the pair scoring two victories between them at the Spanish Grand Prix and the Malaysian Grand Prix. Ricciardo scored eight podium finishes with the RB12.

Ricciardo added: "Off-track, it's my raptor! I can do a lot with it, I can throw things in the back. And also my friends, if they're talking too much, just throw them in the back!"

Ricciardo was then asked about his future, revealing: "What is next for me is, really just enjoying this pace of life I'm living now. It took me a little while to adjust from retirement, but now I'm finding, let's say, my pace and my happiness."

He continued: "With Ford, and being the ambassador for them, it's a way to still stay in racing, in motorsport, in the automotive world, but without the pressure that I put on myself for many years, so that's a nice balance that I'm very happy with."

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