Daniel Ricciardo teases exciting announcement with four-word statement ahead of Italian GP
Could Daniel Ricciardo be making a return to racing?
Daniel Ricciardo has teased an announcement for his fans, posing next to a Ford Racing-badged Raptor truck and posting the caption: "More around the corner..." The eight-time Formula One race winner has been absent from the motorsport community since leaving the Faenza-based Red Bull sister team after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.
Ricciardo was brought back into the Red Bull F1 set-up ahead of the 2024 campaign with the expectation being that he could put pressure on Sergio Perez and contend for a promotion from the VCARB (now Racing Bulls) squad. However, in 18 Grand Prix starts last year, he recorded just three top-10 finishes, and was sidelined for the final six rounds to provide Liam Lawson with an opportunity.
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On Thursday, ahead of the Italian GP, Ricciardo got his fans dreaming with a teaser on his social media pages. On X, he posted two pictures standing beside a Ford Raptor, including a close-up of the 'Ford Racing' badge. His post was captioned: "More around the corner..."
While some fans theorised that Ricciardo's teaser might be linked to a future return to motorsport, others believed that his post is part of an ambassadorial relationship with the American auto manufacturer, as Ford Performance was rebranded to Ford Racing this week.
"Today, Ford Performance becomes Ford Racing," explained general manager, Will Ford. "This is not a marketing exercise. This is a promise. It signals a new, more focused mission to tear down the wall between our race teams and the engineering of the vehicles you drive every day on and off-road.
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"Under one global Ford Racing banner, our engineers and designers will develop our performance road cars right alongside our race cars. The technology that survives the Baja 1000 will be in the DNA of the next F-150 Raptor. The aerodynamic lessons we learn at Daytona and Le Mans will be sculpted into the body of the next Mustang.
"This is a direct line from the track to your driveway, and it starts now. The first production vehicle born from this new Ford Racing mindset will debut this January. This is about more than just the machines. It’s about the experience."
As for Ricciardo, his motorsport future is unclear. The experienced Australian has closed the door on F1, but has been touted for cameo appearances in either the V8 Supercars championship or one of NASCAR's three main series.
