Daniel Ricciardo News: RB star reveals shock desire to race outside F1

Daniel Ricciardo

Ricciardo reveals SHOCK desire to race outside F1

Daniel Ricciardo has his sights set on a racing series other than Formula 1

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 18 September 2024 21:57

Formula 1 star Daniel Ricciardo has expressed a desire to race outside of the series as his future on the grid looks increasingly uncertain.

Ricciardo currently drives for Visa Cash App RB, the Red Bull junior team, but with his contract set to expire at the end of this season, the Aussie could be looking at a permanent exit from the sport.

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Having raced for five different teams over the span of his 13-year-long career in F1, Ricciardo is no stranger to having to adapt to a new environment before getting behind the wheel.

The 35-year-old drove for Red Bull from 2014 until 2018, when he made the shock switch to Renault and has been chasing the success he found with Christian Horner's team ever since.

Having been touted as a potential replacement for an underperforming Sergio Perez earlier this season, Ricciardo will now be lucky to retain his current seat, let alone be handed a promotion back into the main team.

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Ricciardo reveals NASCAR dreams

With time running out for Ricciardo in F1, he admitted he has considered switching to rival racing series' should he find himself out of a seat next season.

In an interview for Tourism Western Australia, Ricciardo revealed: "There's things I would like to try and experience,"

"I don't know, let's say on a competitive level, I grew up a fan of NASCAR. I'd like to drive a NASCAR. I'd love to drive around Daytona, for example."

If the grands prix winner's wish was granted, this would not be the first time he has gotten behind the wheel of NASCAR machinery, having driven his hero Dale Earnhardt Sr's 1984 Chevrolet NASCAR as part of proceedings at the US GP in 2021.

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Considering whether he could make the career switch across the pond, Ricciardo continued: "But would I like to compete? Yes and no, but I also know that, it's not what I grew up doing, and I'll probably get smoked so like, I don't know if I need that!

"I would love to experience it.”

The RB stars ambitions don't stop there. Ricciardo also opened up on his love for MotoGP, stating: "I would love to try a MotoGP bike, but I would be very, very slow and probably horrendous. Just like, all in my own time."

Reflecting on a racing opportunity closer to home however, the Aussie driver revealed: "Actually Bathurst, if it's, obviously okay, it's the V8 that does the race there, but you know there's the 12 hour and stuff, so maybe that's one I could compete in.

"If a V8 team said 'hey, do you want to do a few laps around Bathurst, no pressure, just to experience it', then I'll definitely take that up."

For now, Ricciardo has seven races left of the 2024 season to prove his worth. However, even if he departs F1, we may well see the Aussie on a track once again in the future.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Red Bull Christian Horner Daniel Ricciardo Sergio Perez Visa Cash App RB