Ex-F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo’s dream: one last race with Verstappen

Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 career came to an end even before the season finale: after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, it was all over for the charismatic Australian, who had to hand over his seat at Racing Bulls to Liam Lawson. This was followed by a period which, looking back, he describes as painful. Speaking on the ‘Beyond The Grid’ podcast, he said: ‘I think I felt like I’d failed, that I hadn’t managed to deliver the performance I needed to.’

“People saw me in public. I was having fun, treating myself to a drink or whatever, but really I was just hiding from what I was truly feeling deep down inside – a great deal of pain and sadness,” reveals the eight-time Grand Prix winner, who has now come to terms with the fact that his daily life no longer revolves around the track.

Ricciardo can, however, imagine making a comeback for a very special race. “A year ago, I would have said that I’d never put on a racing helmet again, that I was done with it. At the same time, there’s a voice inside me that says I’d like to end my racing career on my own terms. It’s about doing something that makes me happy. Perhaps I need this sense of closure,” he explains.

Daniel Ricciardo: A fitting end to his career

The 24 Hours of Le Mans holds a special appeal – not least because your own team-mates are in the same car. “Sharing a car with other drivers and having proper team-mates with whom you share data and whom you help – I’d certainly enjoy that. I think I’d really enjoy that sort of racing and camaraderie,” says Max Verstappen’s former Red Bull Racing team-mate.

When asked whether he had a particular driver in mind as a team-mate, Ricciardo reveals: “I don’t want to put any pressure on anyone, but of course Max is right at the top of the list. We’ve talked about how things were at Red Bull Racing back in 2018, and I’ve been trying to return to the team towards the end of my career. Perhaps that would be a way of giving people what they want.”

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