Daniel Ricciardo is reportedly far from short of offers after Red Bull showed him the Formula 1 exit, with NASCAR tipped to be in his future.
Ricciardo must decide what comes next after Red Bull axed him from the line-up at junior team VCARB following the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, though the Austrian outfit has made it “very clear” that they would like him to become an ambassador. The ball is now in his court over whether he accepts that role.
Daniel Ricciardo to extend career in NASCAR after Red Bull axe?
But Red Bull are far from the only ones with an offer on the table, according to respected Formula 1 commentator Alex Jacques, who also believes that we will see Ricciardo racing in NASCAR down the line.
Ricciardo became a hugely popular figure in the United States, having been a key attraction in Netflix’s hit F1 docuseries Drive to Survive.
“I know he’s got offers aplenty already,” Jacques told ex-Red Bull driver David Coulthard during the Formula For Success podcast.
“I think the media work is going to be nailed on for him. I think he’ll be back in a Formula 1 paddock at some point.
“I suspect he’s not going to be able to resist a little bit of NASCAR. He’s a massive NASCAR fan. He really does appreciate it and and love that.
“And I think Netflix would love it if he went from Drive to Survive to… They had a series about NASCAR last year. They would love that transition I think for the viewing numbers, sort of like when you get a soap and you get a character come back from having been away for a couple of years, I think Daniel Ricardo turning up…
“I’m not sure he’s going to do the ovals, but like, they race at Watkins Glen, they race on the streets of Chicago. I think that’s got Danny Ric’s name all over it. So I think he’ll give that a go.
“And then I think he’ll be in close proximity to you [Coulthard] when you’re doing your punditry. I think he’ll be back in the paddock very, very quickly.”
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However, should Ricciardo choose to race on after his F1 departure, Coulthard warns he risks becoming “just another driver” unless he puts in dominant performances, of which there is a “pretty slim” chance.
“He’s certainly leaving the sport in this modern era of Netflix and a much wider social following than the generation before,” said Coulthard. “I guess the world is his lobster, as they would say in Scotland, or oyster, as I suspect they say down south. So there’ll be a lot of opportunities there.
“And it’ll be interesting to see whether he looks to continue within another form of racing, which the risk in that is unless you go in and dominate, which you know, the chances of him doing that are pretty slim, you just become another driver, and you kind of lose the fairy dust of being an ex-Grand Prix driver.
“So I definitely see him being an asset – whether he’d want to be – but he could definitely be an asset from a media point of view.”
Red Bull reserve Liam Lawson has stepped up to replace Ricciardo at VCARB for the final six rounds of the F1 2024 season.
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