Daniel Ricciardo teases post-F1 career plans with Aussie facing VCARB axe
Daniel Ricciardo has spoken out about a potential career switch, with his future at VCARB up in the air.
Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he would love to experience NASCAR and MotoGP after Formula One. The Australian teased the career switch earlier this week, with his future at VCARB hanging in the balance after struggling for form this year.
Ricciardo is an eight-time Grand Prix winner and had been tipped to return to Red Bull after driving for the team for five years between 2014 and 2018.
He was given a seat with Red Bull’s junior team Alpha Tauri last year and has continued to drive for them this time around following their rebrand. But he has only amassed 12 points all season.
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VCARB have retained Yuki Tsunoda for next year and are in the process of promoting Liam Lawson from reserve driver to take the other seat. That means Ricciardo could be forced to leave F1 for the second time in three years, with Lawson tipped to replace the 35-year-old after the next race in Singapore this weekend.
And during an interview with Tourism Western Australia this week, Ricciardo explained: “I grew up a fan of NASCAR. I'd like to drive a NASCAR, I'd love to drive around Daytona for example. But would I like to compete? Yes and no.
“I know it's not what I grew up doing and I'll probably get smoked. [So] I don't know if I need that [but] I would love to experience it.” And turning his attention to MotoGP, he added: “I love motorbikes. But I would be very, very slow and probably horrendous.”
Ricciardo was then quizzed by members of the media ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix about whether he would consider competing in IndyCar or NASCAR. And the veteran said: “IndyCar still scares me.
“I’ve thought about it because I also thought about it a couple years ago when I knew I wasn’t going to start the 2023 season, but I don’t know.
“I know I’m still a competitor. Like, I know I still have a lot of fire in me, but maybe that itch is scratched doing something else.”
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And he added: “It’s hard. It’s even talking about just being in the sport and maybe fighting for a 10th place every now and then.
“It’s maybe the same with doing another series - and no disrespect to other series, but because I’ve been there and experienced the highest of the highs, will I get true fulfilment doing something else? [There’s] no guarantee I’ll be good as something else.
“So is that gonna actually scratch the itch and give me what I want? I don’t know. I’ll probably say no more than yes - but these are things I’ll think about if I’m not in this position.”