Daniel Ricciardo has bared all over his exit from Formula 1 two years ago – a moment which he has described as a “humiliation.”

The popular Australian driver, a hit on Netflix’s Drive to Survive, was dropped by McLaren in 2022 after a disappointing campaign. However, after re-joining Red Bull as a third driver, he was handed a second chance in the sport midway through the 2023 season with the team’s junior team, Racing Bulls.

Yet Ricciardo, up against Yuki Tsunoda, failed to show signs of his former self and he was brutally axed from the team after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, six races short of the end of the season.

The 37-year-old has kept a low profile in the two years since but has confirmed his retirement from all forms of motorsport. That being said, he is a Global Ambassador for Ford Racing.

Yet Ricciardo has now opened up on his emotions in 2024, telling the Beyond the Grid podcast: “It’s then a sense of humiliation, like I failed and I didn’t do what I once could.

“Trying to deal with those next few months, I understood it as I was just hiding from the humiliation. People saw me out in public.

“I was having a good time and having a drink or whatever and I was just really hiding from what I really felt deep inside, which was a lot of pain and sadness.”

However, Ricciardo admits some time for reflection has made him “proud” of the career he had, which included eight grand prix victories and 32 podiums over the course of 14 seasons.

His best championship finish came in 2014 and 2016 when he finished third for Red Bull.

“I look back now with much more of a smile than I did a couple years ago,” he added.

“I am definitely proud. I think sometimes you also never really want to reflect that much, especially when you’re racing, because you nearly spook yourself.”

Ricciardo was replaced at Racing Bulls by Liam Lawson, who now partners British rookie Arvid Lindblad. Tsunoda was promoted to Red Bull last season but lost his seat to Isack Hadjar.