A Red Bull return for Daniel Ricciardo could be on the cards as Christian Horner opens the door for the Australian

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has extended an olive branch to Daniel Ricciardo and said that the Australian could be a part of the camp in any role he wants. Liam Lawson replaced Ricciardo for the last six races after the 2024 Singapore GP. However, the driver could not officially say he was being dropped during the weekend and bid farewell to the paddock.

Red Bull had brought Ricciardo in to see if he could replace Sergio Perez on the senior team, but his stint at RB did not convince the team that he could be promoted. As a result, he was replaced and does not have a path back to the grid. There have been suggestions that he would more or less retire from racing altogether but nothing has been finalized yet.

Talking to the media in Austin, Horner opened the door for the Australian and said (via PlanetF1):

“He grew up with Red Bull, and he’s taking some time out at the moment. But he’d be very welcome, any time, to be part of whatever role he elected to want to get involved in. He has a massive profile, and you’re a long time retired so, if he chose to want to get involved in some activities in the US in any way, it’s something we’d be very open to.”

Ricciardo is not out of offers and has been eyed in Australia's sportscar series.

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Daniel Ricciardo is getting offers from other series as well

Daniel Ricciardo (3) of Australia and team Visa Cash App RB F1 Team during the Pirelli US GP | Getty Images

In an interview with News Corp, Repco Supercars Championship CEO Shane Howard pitched the idea of Ricciardo racing in the series:

“Would we like to see Daniel Ricciardo in a Supercar? 100 percent. 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.”

Ricciardo's uncertain future is mostly due to his lack of performance in the ground effect era. The cars have not suited him, leading to a drop in stock as he's unable to find any suitors on the F1 grid.