F1 News: Daniel Ricciardo Teases Red Bull Full-Time Return As Sergio Perez Exit Rumours Peak
Daniel Ricciardo has said that his ideal end to his F1 career would be with Red Bull, as he discusses his journey back to a full-time seat in the sport.
During the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, the Australian driver explained in an interview with ESPN that he would like his F1 career to come to a close with Red Bull but does also acknowledge that he might have to work his way back up through AlphaTauri for this to happen. He explained:
"This for me would be like the fairytale. 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."
Ricciardo lost his seat with McLaren at the end of the 2022 season and signed with Red Bull as their third driver for 2023. The eight-time grand prix winner has been open with his hopes of returning to the grid, but has said that he is only motivated by a seat in a competitive team.
There has been a huge amount of speculation over Sergio Perez's future with the Red Bull team. He is currently in contract until the end of 2024, however, many believe he is currently not performing well enough to keep his seat and may even lose it before then. Ever since Ricciardo was announced as the third driver for the Austrian team, he has been mentioned as a possible replacement for the Mexican driver.
On top of this, Lando Norris, Alex Albon, and Yuki Tsunoda have all been mentioned as possible replacements Perez if he does end up losing his seat with Red Bull.