Former Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo has opened up on the emotional toll of the sport and his demise in a brutally raw interview.

Speaking on the DRIVE with Jim Farley podcast, Ricciardo also cleared the air on what happened at the end of his time with Racing Bulls, the sister team of Red Bull.

With six races remaining in the 2024 season, the much-loved Aussie driver and Racing Bulls parted ways after the Singapore Grand Prix.

But fans were in the dark, with no formal statement coming for days and an emotional Ricciardo not acknowledging the end with any farewell gesture.

“Ultimately, I got let go,” Ricciardo admitted to Farley, the CEO of Ford.

“That was the reality at the time. I think once that happened, I’d been let go twice in the last two years, and it had also taken a lot out of me.

“I’d put a lot of my soul into it. I was pretty exhausted by it.”

But if Ricciardo was bitter at the time, he isn’t now, making a personal admission about his motivation at the time, and his patchy form.

“In reflection, I was grateful that they made the decision for me,” he said.

“I think it would have been hard (for me to say), ‘I’m done.’ I think I knew I was probably done because I knew it was harder for me to perform at the level I could.

“(Fernando) Alonso, these guys are in their 40s in F1, competing very highly (Alonso is 44).

“For whatever reason, I lost a little bit of something ... and it’s OK to admit it. It’s fine.”

The 36-year-old said the high and lows of his career took their toll, admitting there some days where he was “very uninterested”.

“There are a lot of days that hurt,” he said.

“You know, there are a lot of days where you’re frustrated and there’s so much that’s out of your control, and, of course, I’ll take accountability when I can, but there are days that just hurt and suck.

“I was like one of the lucky ones. I was able to win races in Formula 1. I won eight races, but I entered over 250 ... so I don’t know what that works out in percentage, but it’s a pretty low percentage of success rate.

“I compare it to a team sport, for example, maybe their record is 50 per cent, probably better for a lot of teams, so the days that are good days, really good days, are far and few between.

“But there’s something about it that just keeps bringing you back, and I think it makes the highs higher, sure, because you don’t win every day, you appreciate it when you do.

“But there were days, yeah, where I was very uninterested. And, you know, I, I can tell you numerous occasions where I was, yeah, I’m done.”

Ricciardo’s advice to aspiring drivers also gave an insight into the pain he still feels.

“Remove any fairytales,” he said.

“Remove your ego as much as possible.

“There’s people that love you and will still tell you that you’re great and you can do it, but as much as you love them as well, you need to just close the door and make that decision on your own and be really honest with yourself.

“If I would have got to the end of last year, I think I would have still had a lot of these thoughts and had had the conversation with myself, because I knew it was becoming harder for me, and I had to dig really deep to pull out a result that I was proud of.

“You always want to believe everyone’s looking out for you, and they probably still are, but they don’t know what it’s like to be you and in your situation.

“Give yourself enough alone time. You’ll find the answer.

“Last year, my retirement year, I gave myself a lot of time to just reflect on my career and to be at peace with it.”