The Australian driver departed the sport after leaving the Racing Bulls team midway through last season and has thrown himself into his Ricciardo Kart project now that he is no longer driving in elite motorsport.

Ricciardo told Formula One's official website at a recent karting event: "I'm just enjoying some life in the slow lane. I mean, it sounds weird saying like retirement when I'm 36 years old, but retirement from at least the world I was living in. It's cool.

"To be at the kart track... it's my first time at a race track since I guess Singapore (2024, his last F1 race), so quite a few months now. But it's cool to see the kids... this is why I started karting.

"I've had photos with groups of the kids and I can tell friendships they have, and these friendships will last a lifetime a lot of them. My best friend to this day was a friend that I raced karts with. It's nice to be back at like the grassroots of it and the most pure form of racing."

Ricciardo explained that attending the karting event brought back memories of him making his way in racing as a youngster.

The eight-time Grand Prix winner said: "I think now that I'm a bit removed from it and life is not as chaotic, it's nice to remember what it was like to be at the start of the career. We all have idols and heroes...

"I would be very nervous meeting someone who I admired, so I understand sometimes it's a bit overwhelming. But everyone seems pretty cool. I guess maybe I'm not the only driver they've met before - there's a lot of F1 fans here!

"I think just to have someone that you want to try and obviously look up to and someone that can inspire you... if I'm able to sprinkle a tiny bit of inspiration or motivation today by being here and having a chat to a few kids, that's awesome. That's something I know I appreciated when I was eight, nine, 10 years old."