Daniel Ricciardo teases Max Verstappen reunion at Le Mans: “Give the people what they want”
Daniel Ricciardo is open to the prospect of teaming up with Max Verstappen again.
Daniel Ricciardo has opened the door to reuniting with former Red Bull Formula 1 team-mate Max Verstappen at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Last September, Ricciardo, who has not raced since his F1 exit following the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, confirmed he had retired from motor racing for good.
But the 37-year-old Australian has not closed off the possibility of a one-off appearance at the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours, especially if he could do it alongside his first choice team-mate.
“A year ago, I would have said I will never put a helmet on again. I’m done. That’s it. But there is something there where I’m like, it’d be nice for me to also finish a racing career a bit more on my terms,” Ricciardo told F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast.
"So to do something that, when I take the helmet off, I’m smiling and happy, and maybe that’s the last bit of closure I need.
"To share a car with other drivers and to actually have real team-mates to share data and help out, I would just enjoy it. It would be the form of driving and companionship that I would really enjoy.”
Asked who would be his dream team-mate for an endurance race, eight-time grand prix winner Ricciardo replied: "I don’t want to put pressure on him, but obviously Max is a name that would be high on the list.
"We talked about Red Bull obviously in 2018 and ‘what if’, and I was trying to get back at the team at the end of my career. So maybe that’s a way that we could, yeah, I say give the people what they want.”
Ricciardo and Verstappen spent two years as team-mates at Red Bull between 2016 and 2018, before the former left to join Renault for the 2019 season.
During their time together at Red Bull, Ricciardo and Verstappen each took three wins, while Ricciardo outscored Verstappen across both seasons, managing a total 457 points compared to Verstappen’s 377.
Verstappen has made it clear he would love to compete at the Le Mans 24 Hours one day, but the 29-year-old Dutchman has ruled out the possibility of doing so in 2027.
"Nurburgring and Spa, probably. Le Mans, not. That's not on my list for now," Verstappen said when asked about his GT racing plans for next season.
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