Ricciardo won't rule out Supercars cameo

The West Aussie is set to be absent from the F1 grid for the first time in over a decade next season with his spot at McLaren going to countryman Oscar Piastri.

He is likely to land a top reserve driver role for 2023, having already been linked to both Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, and remains hopeful of returning to a race seat in 2024.

While an F1 reserve driver role is Ricciardo's priority for 2023, race starts in other categories aren't off the table entirely.

Asked in Brazil if he would consider a one-off start in another series, with Supercars used as the specific example, Ricciardo said he would consider it – as long as it would benefit his bid to return to an F1 race seat.

"I guess I need to wait to see where I land next year," he said.

"Obviously I'm talking about potentially a reserve role or whatever. Truth is, I haven't agreed to anything or signed anything yet.

"Then it comes to a question of, what am I allowed to do, is one thing, but ultimately, if I feel maybe doing a one-off will benefit me, and keep me sharp or whatever.

"Then it's something I'll potentially look into.

"But I'm kind of like, F1 is so different to maybe a touring car or something, that I don't know if it will kind of distance me more. So that's what I would need to work out.

"So yeah, tough. I don't want to say no yet to anything. But ideally, I'd get some days in an F1 car as opposed to trying to, let's say, get a seat somewhere else."

Ricciardo has twice sampled Supercars hardware, his first experience in Triple Eight's 'Sandman' wagon, before an outing in Rick Kelly's factory Nissan Altima at Calder Park in 2019.

At the time he said a future Bathurst 1000 start was a "50-50", the topic of a Bathurst cameo later rearing its head when he joined McLaren.

That was through the link between McLaren and Walkinshaw Andretti United, which is co-owned by Zak Brown.

The Supercars rules allow teams to field one-off entries at the majority of events throughout the season, making a Ricciardo cameo at least feasible.