Ricciardo dream within reach as Red Bull announce first 2023 plan

Ewan Gale
Thursday 22 December 2022 14:14

Daniel Ricciardo could be in line for a dream run around the Mount Panorama circuit with Red Bull visiting the Bathurst 12-Hour event in February.

The F1 championship-winning team will take on the iconic Australian circuit during a demonstration run during the Intercontinental GT opener in two months' time.

The driver is yet to be announced, but given Ricciardo's remit as third driver includes commercial activities and his affection for the circuit, it would be likely for the former McLaren driver to take the RB7 up the mountain.

Red Bull and show cars will be accessible for those with tickets to the event in the paddock, making its activation an on-and-off track affair.

Bathurst 12-Hour event director Shane Rudzis said: "Oracle Red Bull Racing are the current Formula 1 world champions.

"Just to have them at the event is a privilege, but to know that a Red Bull Formula 1 car will be lapping Mount Panorama will be something else.

“This will be a spectacle like nothing we’ve seen at the 12 Hour before and takes the event to an entirely new level.

“This will be the best opportunity in 2023 for Australian F1 fans to get up close and personal with F1 machinery and an even rarer opportunity to see a Formula 1 car lap Mount Panorama.”

The last time an F1 car lapped Mount Panorama was when Jenson Button and Craig Lowndes took to the wheel of a McLaren MP4-23 in 2011.