Daniel Ricciardo says that in an ideal world, a race seat with Red Bull would be the perfect "fairytale' ending to his career in Formula 1.
After McLaren and Ricciardo decided to terminate their working relationship at the end of 2022, the eight-time Grand Prix winner opted to spend a year on the sidelines, although his reserve driver status with Red Bull means that he can be called up at short notice if necessary.
As he stands in the wings at Red Bull, Ricciardo is pondering his future. The Aussie believes that he's still worthy of a seat with a top-tier outfit. But beggars can't be choosers and the 33-year-old's options for 2024 appear limited.
A full-time return to Red Bull Racing, for which he raced from 2014 to 2018, seems like a long shot for the eight-time Grand Prix, as even if the team chooses to part ways with Sergio Perez, the Milton Keynes-based outfit is much more likely to promote junior Liam Lawson, or even AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda, to it’s A-squad then Ricciardo.
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Despite the low odds, such a prospect would be the perfect epilogue for F1's Honey Badger.
"This for me would be like a fairytale," he told ESPN. "Honestly, the fairytale ending [would be] to finish my career here if I could have it all my own way.
"But we’ll see. I’ll probably have to work my way up a little bit but it’s really nice to be back here."
Working himself up could mean accepting a race seat with AlphaTauri next season, according to ESPN, to prepare himself for a move to Red Bull to replace Perez whose current contract with the bull's expires at the end of 2024.
"I know I can come back as a more complete version of myself," Ricciardo said on Sunday in Canada where he hosted the 'The Grandstand with Daniel Ricciardo and Will Arnett' on ESPN.
While the door to speculation may remain slightly ajar, the likelihood of Daniel Ricciardo rejoining Red Bull Racing appears remote at best.
As both parties continue to pursue their respective paths, it seems the racing chapters they shared will forever remain a part of their past rather than their future.
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