Daniel Ricciardo has opened the door to a potential return to racing, floating the idea of a Le Mans 24 Hours appearance alongside his former Formula 1 teammate Max Verstappen, as Crash.net reports. The Australian driver confirmed his retirement from motor racing for good last September, following his F1 exit after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.
Yet, the 37-year-old has not entirely closed off a one-off entry at the legendary endurance race, particularly if it means partnering with his preferred teammate. Speaking on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast, Ricciardo reflected on changing his perspective since stepping away from the cockpit.
Nurburgring and Spa, probably. Le Mans, not. That's not on my list for now.
"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," Ricciardo explained. He noted that a final outing could offer a happier kind of closure, adding, "To share a car with other drivers and to actually have real team-mates to share data and help out, I would just enjoy it. It would be the form of driving and companionship that I would really enjoy."
When asked about his dream partner for an endurance entry, the eight-time grand prix winner pointed straight toward the reigning world champion. "I don’t want to put pressure on him, but obviously Max is a name that would be high on the list," Ricciardo said. "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."
The two previously spent two years as teammates at Red Bull between 2016 and 2018 before Ricciardo departed for Renault ahead of the 2019 season. During that stint, both drivers claimed three wins apiece, while Ricciardo accumulated 457 points to Verstappen’s 377 across those two campaigns.
While Verstappen has previously expressed a desire to race at Le Mans in the future, the 29-year-old Dutchman has already ruled out a start for 2027. Discussing his upcoming GT racing plans, Verstappen stated, "Nurburgring and Spa, probably. Le Mans, not. That's not on my list for now."
