---
title: "Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo Opens up About His Winter Break and 2018 F1 Season"
description: "Red Bull Racing's charismatic Australian driver has become a staple of the \"new\" Formula 1."
date: "2018-02-17"
modified: "2018-02-21"
authors:
  - name: "Jerry Perez"
    job_title: "Deputy Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/jerry-perez"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/18470/red-bulls-daniel-ricciardo-opens-up-about-his-winter-break-and-2018-f1-season"
categories:
  - "F1"
  - "News"
  - "Racing"
tags:
  - "Daniel Ricciardo"
  - "Formula 1"
  - "racing"
  - "Red Bull Racing"
---

# Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo Opens up About His Winter Break and 2018 F1 Season

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/02/ap-1tyawtwr11w11_news.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

[Daniel Ricciardo](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/13747/mark-webber-calls-daniel-ricciardo-the-most-reliable-driver-in-f1>), alongside Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, is the new face of a 68-year-old sport that's reshaping itself in order to remain relevant. Ricciardo, who races for the wildly popular [Red Bull Racing](<https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/16213/watch-this-red-bull-racing-f1-car-tackle-a-swiss-mountain-pass>) team, recently sat down to chat about his time away from the track, as well as what he expects in 2018.

In typical Ricciardo fashion, he described his winter break in great detail, which included plenty of time in his hometown of Perth in Australia, attending fellow racer [Brendon Hartley's wedding](<https://www.thedrive.com/start-finish/15643/brendon-hartley-had-to-wiggle-out-of-his-indycar-contract-to-race-in-f1>), driving buggies and seeing one of his favorite bands, Mumford & Sons. When asked about what makes him happy and what makes him mad, Ricciardo was straight to the point: "The sun makes me happy," later adding, "Cold weather makes me pretty mad." Typical Aussie.

https://youtube.com/embed/skCTK9qMyJw

Ricciardo had a tremendous season in 2017, finishing outside the top five only once in 20 races, although he was struck by bad luck and logged six DNFs, including one at the season opener at his home race in Melbourne. When asked to mention three highlights from 2017, Ricciardo went on to repeat "Baku" three times, which was his lone win of the season, and it happened in the midst of [controversial moves by Sebastian Vettel on Lewis Hamilton](<https://www.thedrive.com/start-finish/12198/hamilton-forgives-vettel-for-azerbaijan-incident-goes-back-to-being-frenemies>), and Sergio Perez on his teammate Esteban Ocon.

The [video](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skCTK9qMyJw>) interview takes a turn when it comes time to talk about his goals for 2018, as well as his fantastic/controversial (depending on who you ask) teammate, Max Verstappen. All I know is that I'd love to see more "shoeys" in 2018. Wouldn't you?

## Author
Jerry is responsible for upholding The Drive's ethos as an audience-first, enthusiast-driven car blog that serves up industry-leading news, reviews, culture, and motorsport coverage. Overseeing a staff of writers and editors from his home base in Indianapolis, he helps curate the site's daily rundown, as well as its medium- and long-term content strategies. Jerry joined The Drive in 2018 as a writer and worked as news editor and managing editor before becoming the deputy in 2023. As a lifelong car enthusiast and racing fan, Jerry believes that all cars are cool, but the people behind the machines are even cooler. This belief often gives The Drive a slightly different focus from most other car sites, where we explore the humanity behind the machines. When he's not obsessing over the day's biggest stories or hanging out at a race track, Jerry can be found behind the wheel of a car, most likely sharing a laugh with his teenage son or daughter.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/drive_jerry/>)