Ricciardo offered F1 lifeline with new role at Red Bull

Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko has confirmed that the team are interested in offering Daniel Ricciardo an ambassadorial role after the Australian raced in his final grand prix in Singapore.
The 35-year-old was recently dropped from the Red Bull reserve team RB, with Liam Lawson chosen to partner Yuki Tsunoda in the final six races, starting with the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas on 20 October.
Ricciardo finished 16th in Singapore and was visibly emotional as he received a guard of honour in the paddock. He later said he was “at peace” with the fact that it was likely his last race in F1.
Speaking to the Formula1.de YouTube channel, Marko confirmed that the Milton Keynes-based team are “interested” in giving the Australian an ambassadorial role, reports Planet F1.
“He is one of the most popular Formula 1 drivers, especially in the USA,” said Marko of the Australian.
Marko added that Ricciardo “wants to have time to think about his entire future” and has not yet agreed to any continued role with Red Bull.
It remains to be seen what the 35-year-old will do after a 13-year career in F1 came to an end, though Marko added that he doesn’t believe Ricciardo will move to another racing series.
“I don’t think so. And if he no longer drives actively, does he even want these PR activities?” added Marko.
Ricciardo claimed that IndyCar “still scares me” in an interview in Singapore, while adding that he doesn’t know if he would find “true fulfillment doing something else”.
“I’ve thought about it because I also thought about it a couple years ago when I knew I wasn’t going to start the 2023 season, but I don’t know,” he added. “I know I’m still a competitor. I know I still have a lot of fire in me, but maybe that itch is scratched doing something else.
“It’s hard. It’s even talking about just being in the sport and maybe fighting for a 10th place every now and then. It’s maybe the same with doing another series – and no disrespect to other series, but because I’ve been there and experienced the highest of the highs, will I get true fulfillment doing something else?
“[There’s] no guarantee I’ll be good as something else, so is that going to actually scratch the itch and give me what I want? I don’t know.”