Daniel Ricciardo could make a shock Red Bull return for Christian Horner as pressure mounts on Sergio Perez

The fans want him back, he may be up for it and even the Red Bull bosses keep hinting how much they miss him.

It appears the best thing that could have happened for Daniel Ricciardo’s career was being sacked after the Singapore Grand Prix in September.

Instead of finishing his woeful season far down the F1 ladder he has been able to keep his $7 million-a-year meal ticket with Red Bull by acting as an ambassador for the motorsport giant.

Meanwhile, the young gun who replaced him at RB, Liam Lawson, has shown he is far from the team player Ricciardo was by sledging the driver Red Bull fans think may make way for a Ricciardo return - Sergio Perez.

With three races left in the season, where better for a shock announcement about a triumphant return than Las Vegas this weekend?

Ricciardo seemingly has the world at his feet with a standing offer to return home and race in the Supercars so that he can add a run at the Bathurst 1000 to his storied career.

Or he could stay stateside and join Aussie driver Will Power in the Indycar series.

The only thing that is certain is Red Bull openly admit they handled Riccardo’s exit badly and the Red Bull drivers - except Max Verstappen - will be keen to be at their best in Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi as Christian Horner’s patience around the constructors championship race is tested.

Plenty of superstars have come back from retirement, Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, Tom Brady and to a degree Mike Tyson – who showed he is as good a punching bag as any fighter at age 58 last weekend.

Ricciardo hasn’t said he is quitting, he just does not have a team to drive for.

A surprise recall by Red Bull is not that far fetched. After all, this is the F1 - where teams appear as concerned with the headlines as they are with race results.

Horner again fuelled speculation over Ricciardo’s future by regaling some of his best racing performances, namely winning the 2018 Monaco GP.

“He drove some brilliant races for us. I’m not going to name one, I’m going to name a couple,” Horner told the F1 Nation Podcast.

“I think that some of the races, if you look at Hungary 2014 … Our biggest concern when he came to drive for us was that we knew he was quick, but (swe’d) never seen him overtake anybody, so we didn’t know how good a racer he was.

“As soon as he got in our car, he just never stopped overtaking people. He was so late on the brakes. If you look at that race from 2014 in Hungary, if you look at his first victory in Montreal, the race he won in China in 2018.

“He was outstanding in that and when his confidence was sky-high… For me, in 2014 he was the best driver on the grid – that was his high point.”

Mexican Perez, who finished 11th at the Brazil Grand Prix where Verstappen overcame a lean run of form to claim the race and the F1 title earlier this month, has had a horror season and a major Latin American sponsor left Red Bull mid-season in October, adding to his shaky position.

Telmex, the Mexican telco owned by one of the world’s richest people, Carlos Slim, parted ways with Red Bull as American corporate giant AT&T announced they would be taking pride of place on the team’s livery next season.

Horner has not shied away from the challenge Perez faces to retain his spot.

“As a team, we have done everything we can to support Checo (Perez), but there comes a point when we can’t do any more,” he said.

“That is the point at which difficult decisions have to be made.”

Red Bull CEO Peter Bayer has gone as far as saying Ricciardo was not afforded the respect he deserved when he was axed.

“We had agreed with Daniel that we would not communicate it,” he told Auto Motor und Sport.

“We knew that we would look a bit outdated as a team. But we also did it to protect the driver. It was his wish.”

But Bayer also suspected Ricciardo was a bit in denial, and possibly even thought he could change people’s minds.

“He believed right to the end that he would finish at the front in qualifying and show everyone,” he said.

RB Formula One principal Laurent Mekies previously described the situation as frustrating, and also admitted that the eight-time race-winner’s departure could have been handled better.

“It was frustrating, and yes, you’re right, it was not ideal to go through (Singapore) in that way, first of all for him, on a professional and on a personal matter, and for the whole team around him,” said the Frenchman.

Ricciardo, 35, last won a GP in Italy driving for McLaren in 2021 – the final of his eight victories and two more than Perez, 34, can claim.

But the question remains, do Red Bull see Ricciardo as more valuable in his elder statesman role or will they shuffle the deck chairs yet again to give him another shot?

It could be the early Christmas present Ricciardo fans have been waiting for.