Daniel Ricciardo is facing the prospect of stepping into unknown territory as his time in Formula 1 looks to be over.
The Aussie was dropped by Red Bull’s junior team RB after the Singapore Grand Prix, with Liam Lawson set to compete in the final six races of the 2024 season ahead of a potential permanent seat next season.
With his 13-year-long F1 career looking likely to have met its end, Ricciardo is now being linked with other categories, particularly IndyCar and NASCAR.
But Ricciardo has stated that IndyCar ‘scares’ him and looks to have put that off the table for now, leaving people to speculate that NASCAR could be a serious possibility for the 35-year-old.
Alex Jacques thinks Chicago and Watkins Glen will have Daniel Ricciardo’s ‘name written all over’ them if he joins NASCAR
The Cup Series is an entirely different discipline compared to F1, with a huge part of the championship being events on oval circuits which present an intimidating challenge for drivers.
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While the majority of courses on the 2024 calendar are ovals, NASCAR does race at a number of road courses, such as Watkins Glen and the fairly new street circuit in Chicago, which was introduced to the calendar last season.
And it is these two tracks which, according to Alex Jacques while speaking on the Formula For Success Podcast, will have Ricciardo’s ‘name written all over’ as rumours of a move to the category begin to rise.
“I’m not sure he’s going to do the ovals, but they have street [circuits],” said Jacques.
“They race at Watkins Glen, they race on the streets of Chicago. I think that’s got Danny Ric’s name written all over it, I think he’ll give that a go.
“And then I think he’ll be in close proximity to you when you’re doing your punditry. I think he’ll be back in the paddock very, very quickly.”
Will Daniel Ricciardo make the move to NASCAR?
With Ricciardo having never raced on an oval before, it would take a lot of time to get up to speed with them and is certainly not something to rush into as a rookie.
It would make a lot of sense for the Aussie to start out his NASCAR career on the road courses as he is more than experienced with these type of circuits.
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Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button had a similar approach in 2023, as they both made appearances on road courses, with Button racing three times with Rick Ware Racing at COTA, Chicago and Indianapolis.
With Ricciardo’s personality and popularity in the US, many teams on the NASCAR grid would not pass on the opportunity to have Ricciardo in the car at some events.
With there being just six races left of the playoffs in 2024, there is not an opportunity for the Aussie to get an early chance in NASCAR this year. But following his F1 exit, many will be watching eagerly to see where he ends up in 2025.