Ricciardo made his Formula One debut at the 2011 British Grand Prix with HRT as part of the Red Bull Junior Team, replacing Narain Karthikeyan for the remainder of the 2011 season.

Ricciardo was promoted to Red Bull in 2014, replacing the retiring Mark Webber to partner four-time defending World Drivers' Champion Sebastian Vettel.

In his first season with Red Bull under Renault power,[a] Ricciardo finished third in the championship, taking his maiden victory at the Canadian Grand Prix, with further wins in Hungary and Belgium.

[13] Towards the end of the 2005 season, Ricciardo took a leased 13-year-old Van Diemen across to Sandown Raceway in Melbourne to compete at the national Formula Ford series, but his aging car was uncompetitive, and he finished 16th, 17th and retired during the weekend's three races.

His prizes for the win included a pass to the 2006 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, Melbourne, where the then-16-year-old savoured a taste of his own future by chatting unnoticed with Italian driver Jarno Trulli and Miss Universe 2004, Jennifer Hawkins.

One week later, in Monte Carlo, Ricciardo secured his third pole position of the season, finishing three-tenths of a second ahead of championship rival Stefano Coletti.

[33] Days later, Ricciardo was confirmed as Toro Rosso's test and reserve driver for the 2011 season and would take part in the first free practice session of each race weekend.

[42] At the Australian Grand Prix on 18 March, Ricciardo managed to overtake his teammate Vergne late on the last lap to come home in ninth place, securing his first two World Championship points.

His impressive qualifying efforts of 30–7 against Vergne over their two years together helped promote him to Toro Rosso senior team, Red Bull,[62] replacing fellow countryman Mark Webber.

[64] Ricciardo replaced Mark Webber at Infiniti Red Bull Racing at the start of the 2014 Formula One season, partnering Sebastian Vettel, a four-time world champion.

[75] At the Canadian Grand Prix, Ricciardo leaped from sixth on the grid to third during the pit stops, and in the last four laps, he overcame Sergio Pérez and Nico Rosberg to take his first win of his career.

[88] In the final race of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ricciardo finished in fourth place starting from the pit lane due to a front wing infringement, and secured the first fastest lap of his Formula One career.

[101][102][103] Ricciardo qualified third at the Spanish Grand Prix, and after the two Mercedes cars of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg crashed out on the first lap, he led the early stages of the race.

[147] His run of form came to a halt at the Hungarian Grand Prix, as he and teammate Verstappen collided at Turn 2 on the opening lap, causing Ricciardo's radiator to break and spin out a corner later.

[181] Front wing damage mid-race limited progress in France, as he was passed by Räikkönen late in the race which demoted him out of the podium positions, eventually settling for fourth again.

[187] Bad luck continue to befall Ricciardo in Hungary, as a spin for Lance Stroll early in a wet session prevented him from completing a clean lap, knocking him out in Q2.

[218] Ricciardo crossed the line in seventh place at the French Grand Prix having been embroiled in a four-car battle, but was given two separate five-second penalties on the final lap.

[236] He would follow this with sixth-place finishes in the United States and Brazil,[237] making contact with Kevin Magnussen during the latter, in which Ricciardo sustained front wing damage and earned a five-second time penalty.

[242] After qualifying ninth for the Styrian Grand Prix,[243] Ricciardo was running in sixth place with two laps remaining, but was overtaken by Lance Stroll and Lando Norris.

[279] In his final race for Renault at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he qualified twelfth; however, a good first stint allowed him to exit the pits in seventh place.

[283] After two years at Renault, Ricciardo joined McLaren for the 2021 Formula One World Championship as a replacement for Carlos Sainz Jr., who had signed a multi-year deal with Ferrari.

[288] Ricciardo moved up to fifth on the opening lap but was subsequently unable to keep pace with the top four cars in the wet conditions and was ordered to let Norris past to contend for the podium, which he did,[289] and he eventually finished the race in sixth.

[313] On race day, he was denied a points finish after conceding his tenth position during the closing stages, under orders from the team, to Lando Norris, who was on fresher tyres.

[362][363] At the British Grand Prix, Ricciardo qualified 14th and could only finish the race one place higher in 13th after a DRS failure forced him into an additional extra pit stop mid-race.

[367][368] Qualifying ninth for the Hungarian Grand Prix,[369] he even ran ahead of the Alpines following the pit stops, but eventually finished 15th having received a five-second penalty for colliding with Lance Stroll during the race.

[372] Ricciardo's disappointing performances continued following the summer break at the Belgian and Dutch Grand Prixs, as he failed to score points once more by finishing in 15th and 17th respectively.

[399] During the second free practice of the Dutch Grand Prix, Ricciardo broke a metacarpal bone in his hand in seven places, preventing him from competing for the rest of the weekend.

[400][401][402] Riccardo's injury forced him to miss the next four rounds in Italy, Singapore, Japan and Qatar with Lawson replacing him for all 4 of those races but he returned for the United States Grand Prix.

[428] After the race,[429] Ricciardo was given a three-place grid penalty for the Miami Grand Prix after stewards found he had overtaken the Haas of Nico Hülkenberg under the safety car.

[448] He then finished the next three races in 13th, most notably at the Italian Grand Prix where opening lap contact with Nico Hülkenberg and time penalties hampered serious chances of points.