Red Bull wants to keep Daniel Ricciardo as driver for road show exhibitions. Red Bull offered Daniel Ricciardo the position of a driver for promotional events.

Daniel Ricciardo heading towards retirement from F1
He hasn’t officially announced his retirement yet, but the tears at the end of the Singapore Grand Prix were a clear sign about what could happen to Daniel Ricciardo’s career. On one hand, the farewell to Racing Bulls came due to performances that were not exactly outstanding during the 2024 Formula 1 season, while on the other hand, the limited number of seats available on the 2025 World Championship grid suggests that the 35-year-old Australian’s story in the top racing series may be nearing its end.

However, while his fans hope for a possible twist in the negotiations for the last seat still formally unassigned – that of Sauber, although it seems to be a two-way race between Valtteri Bottas and Gabriel Bortoleto, with the former being the clear favorite over the latter – it is Helmut Marko himself who offers Daniel Ricciardo another lifeline to stay connected to the F1 train. Clearly, the role offered is not that of a regular driver, but as a reserve capable of driving the team’s cars in promotional events around the world.

Helmut Marko’s idea
“We had some conversations,” said the 81-year-old former driver, who is primarily responsible for the operation of the Red Bull Junior Team that has discovered (and burned out) many talents over the past 20 years, to the German site Formel1.de. “We are clearly interested in Daniel. He is one of the most popular drivers, especially in the United States. But he wants to take some time to reflect on his future. I don’t think he will go on to race in other categories, but, on the other hand, if he stops racing, then why would he want to do this kind of public relations activity? He has already earned a lot of money, so it’s up to him to decide how he wants to envision his future.” – the Red Bull boss explained.

In fact, Daniel Ricciardo had already ruled out the possibility of returning as Red Bull and Racing Bulls’ third driver, admitting that accepting a bench role was only the first step in preparing for a return to the track after leaving McLaren. At the same time, the Australian driver had previously admitted that he might be interested in the 24 Hours of Le Mans but not IndyCar, where he would need to overcome a certain “fear” of racing on ovals.