Ricciardo still interested in Le Mans, but only at end of F1 career

Daniel Ricciardo believes that Fernando Alonso's entry to the Indianapolis 500 could open some doors for Formula 1 drivers to try out other series and races, but the Red Bull driver would only consider doing so towards the end of his career.

Alonso announced prior to the Bahrain Grand Prix that he would be entering the Indy 500 with McLaren, Honda and Andretti Autosport, skipping the Monaco Grand Prix in the process.

While Ricciardo said he would not miss a race such as Monaco to enter another event, he understood Alonso's decision to do so given McLaren's current F1 form.

"I would not want to miss Monaco. I think Fernando is missing a good one, but then again if you are not fighting at the front it probably would be a long race around there," Ricciardo said.

"So Indy...I'd take Daytona 500 over Indy. Indy kind of scares me actually! But it is cool that he is doing it, I think personally he has picked a very good time to do it.

"It is an opportunity for him, and he can do it with a good team as well, so I sense his frustrations with his position in the sport at the moment. If he has been given that opportunity, I would probably take it as well, in his position at his age."

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Ricciardo has previously expressed an interest in racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and while he thinks Alonso's Indy 500 shot will open some doors for F1 drivers, he is not yet thinking about entering the legendary French endurance race.

"We will see. I guess it could open some doors," Ricciardo said. "Probably more at the tail end of my F1 career I would be looking more at my options, but now nothing seems that attractive.

"Now I want a faster F1 car as opposed to a fast Indy car or something."

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