Supercars news: The lure that could get Daniel Ricciardo onto the grid

Supercars is set to reach out to Daniel Ricciardo to get him on their grid now that he’s been cut from F1, and they think the introduction of one race might get him interested.

Supercars plans to reach out to Daniel Ricciardo to gauge his interest in racing in the leading Australian series in the future and would welcome the axed Formula 1 star with “open arms”.

Just days after it was confirmed Ricciardo had lost his RB seat to Kiwi young gun Liam Lawson, bringing an end to his F1 career, Supercars chief executive Shane Howard said the category “would certainly like to have him in one of our cars”.

And the series has the prospect of tackling the iconic Mount Panorama at Bathurst or a new Perth street race to potentially entice Ricciardo to jump into a Supercar.

Speaking after the Bathurst 1000 launch 10 days out from the biggest race of the season at Mount Panorama, Howard said Supercars would reach out to Ricciardo’s management at an “appropriate time” to inquire about the Perth-born star’s interest.

During his career in Formula 1, Ricciardo has previously spoken about his desire to one day tackle Australia’s most iconic race track at Bathurst.

After his brutal exit from his RB drive after the Singapore Grand Prix, it remains to be seen what level of interest Ricciardo has – if any – in racing in another motorsport category.

Could Daniel Ricciardo join Supercars next year? Picture: Getty Images

But Howard said Supercars would definitely welcome the eight-time grand prix winner, adding the thought of Ricciardo lining up on the grid for a new Perth street race – with the event in the works for 2026 – would be “special”.

“I think everyone would welcome Daniel with open arms, absolutely,” Howard said on Monday.

“Would we like to see Daniel Ricciardo in a Supercar? 100 per cent.

“Just imagine if he could be in one of our cars and race in a new street race in Perth, that would be something special wouldn’t it?

“It would be absolutely massive. He is such an incredible driver and such an incredible personality and people just absolutely love him.

“Imagine him racing at Bathurst, wow. That would be very cool indeed.”

Howard said the series would make inquiries with Ricciardo’s team once the dust had settled on his F1 departure.

“At an appropriate time we would reach out to Daniel and his management,” Howard said.

Daniel Ricciardo sampled former Supercars driver Rick Kelly’s Castrol Supercar in 2019.

“Obviously he has got a lot going on and we respect that.

“Blake Friend in his management team used to work for us (at Supercars).

“At the right time, we would reach out, but we would certainly like to have him in one of our cars, 100 per cent we would.”

For his part, Ricciardo has commented in the past about the enticing prospect of one day racing around Mount Panorama once his F1 career was finished.

“There are definitely some things I would love to do and Bathurst is one of them,” Ricciardo said in a Fox Sports interview in 2021.

“Once the chaos of my F1 career slows down it is certainly something I’d like to entertain one day.”

Daniel Ricciardo was cut by Red Bull. Picture: Getty Images

Ricciardo cut an emotional figure after what turned out to be his F1 farewell at the Singapore GP, days before RB confirmed he would be replaced by Lawson from the next race in Austin.

The 35-year-old said after the Singapore race he would take some time to assess his future.

“It’s exhausting. If this is it and things move on without me, I think I will just give myself time to figure out what’s next,” Ricciardo said.

“I don’t want to look back and go ‘Oh, poor me’. Maybe it’s something different, maybe I (will) go on and climb mountains or something.”

Originally published as Supercars news: The lure that could get Daniel Ricciardo onto the grid