Red Bull is keen to keep popular Australian Daniel Ricciardo within the family after he left VCARB.
This Thursday, the Australian was officially replaced at Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, Red Bull’s sister team. Liam Lawson will take over from Austin in October as Yuki Tsunoda’s teammate. This is likely the end of the ‘Honey Badger’ after a 14-year F1 career and perhaps also the end of his association with Red Bull, a partnership that started in 2007 when he was picked up by the Austrian team as junior driver.
However, Helmut Marko says Red Bull is interested in keeping Daniel Ricciardo for another role after leaving F1, reports Motorsport.com. “We talked about it and it is clear that we are interested. He is one of the most popular drivers, especially in America,” the Austrian said. “However, he needs time to consider his whole future. I don’t think he will race in another class. And if he doesn’t race anymore, does he want anything to do with our PR?”
In any case, Ricciardo is not a reserve driver
Daniel Ricciardo may become an ambassador for the Red Bull team, but the 35-year-old has already indicated that he does not want to be a reserve driver again as in 2023. He also sees no point in fighting for a place in a lower team in the rankings. “No. Of course it was logical that I kept the door ajar last year, because the big goal was to drive for Red Bull again,” the Australian says. Motorsport.com after asking about becoming a reserve driver. However, he does look back on something beautiful: “I’m happy that I was once able to do it and I enjoyed it. I want to leave the sport with beautiful memories, which doesn’t happen if I have to work very hard and am in Q1 every weekend.” That’s obviously not fun.”
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