Daniel Ricciardo is priority No.1 for V8 Supercars seat and drive at Perth, Bathurst

Matt Shrivell
The Nightly
Daniel Ricciardo is already weighing up his next move.
Daniel Ricciardo is already weighing up his next move. Credit: CarExpert

Australian motorsport fans will be salivating at the news that recently departed Formula 1 superstar Daniel Ricciardo is firmly in the sights of the V8 Supercars bosses.

Ricciardo and Red Bull Racing confirmed that the 35-year-old Aussie driver had lost his seat at Team RB to emerging talent Liam Lawson and that his drive in Singapore on September 22, was to be his last.

It did not take long for rumours of offers and interest about Ricciardo’s next move to begin to swirl, and the V8 Supercars have got ahead of any misgivings saying they would welcome him with ’open arms’.

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Supercars chief executive Shane Howard said that they “would certainly like to have him in one of our cars”.

The connection and potential offer is particularly poignant given that the WA local would be afforded the opportunity to drive in a major race in his hometown, with Perth set to host a new race.

“I think everyone would welcome Daniel with open arms, absolutely,” Howard said at the Bathurst 100 launch on Monday.

“Would we like to see Daniel Ricciardo in a Supercar? 100 per cent.

“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 massive. He is such an incredible driver and such an incredible personality and people just absolutely love him.

Howard also realises the interest and star “pulling power” Ricciardo’s name would add to their brand and the greatest race on their calendar, the Bathurst 1000.

“Imagine him racing at Bathurst, wow. That would be very cool indeed.

“At an appropriate time, we would reach out to Daniel and his management.

“Blake Friend in his management team used to work for us at Supercars.

“At the right time, we would reach out, but we would certainly like to have him in one of our cars, 100 per cent we would.”

Ricciardo has previously said he would like to tick off a few boxes after his time in F1 and driving at Bathurst would be high on that list.

“There are some things I would love to do and Bathurst is one of them,” Ricciardo said in a Fox Sports interview in 2021.

“Once the chaos of my F1 career slows down it is certainly something I’d like to entertain one day.”

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