Daniel Ricciardo opens door to racing return with Max Verstappen at Le Mans

Former Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo has revealed he would consider a one-off appearance at the Le Mans 24 Hours and named his former Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen as his first choice to share a car with.

The Australian driver has not raced since his F1 exit after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, but during an appearance on the F1 Beyond the Grid, the eight-time grand prix winner said he would like the chance to end his racing career on his own terms.

“A year ago, I would have said I will never put a helmet on again. I’m done. That’s it. But there is something there where I’m like, it’d be nice for me to also finish a racing career a bit more on my terms.

“So to do something that, when I take the helmet off, I’m smiling and happy, and maybe that’s the last bit of closure I need.”

Daniel Ricciardo & Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Andy Hone

Ricciardo said a full season still did not appeal to him, but that a one-off outing at Le Mans was something he could see himself doing. Part of the appeal for the former Red Bull driver is sharing a car with his team-mates, rather than competing against them as rivals in F1.

“To share a car with other drivers and to actually have real team-mates to share data and help out,” he continued. “I would just enjoy it. It would be the form of driving and companionship that I would really enjoy.”

Asked who he would love to share a car with in the endurance race, Ricciardo added: “I don’t want to put pressure on him, but obviously Max is a name that would be high on the list.

“We talked about Red Bull obviously in 2018 and ‘what if’, and I was trying to get back at the team at the end of my career. So maybe that’s a way that we could, yeah, I say give the people what they want.”

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– The Motorsport.com Team