Ricciardo wants 'fairytale' F1 career end at Red Bull

Daniel Ricciardo has admitted that returning to racing with Red Bull would be a "fairytale ending" to his Formula 1 career.

The Australian was left without a seat on the grid in 2023 after a difficult two-year spell at McLaren, resulting in him making a comeback to the Milton Keynes-based team as a reserve driver.

Ricciardo has previously voiced his hopes of racing again in 2024 and – while a vacancy at Red Bull next season seems unlikely, given that Sergio Perez will remain under contract as Max Verstappen's teammate – he has hinted at trying to find a way back into the squad.

"This for me would be like the fairytale. Honestly, the fairytale ending [would be] to finish my career here if I could have it all my own way," Ricciardo told ESPN about the prospect of racing at Red Bull again.

"But we'll see. I'll probably have to work my way up a little bit but it's really nice to be back here."

Ricciardo confident of 'more complete' return

While Ricciardo's name previously came up amid recent speculation over Nyck de Vries' position at AlphaTauri, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko went on to rule out the possibility of Ricciardo replacing the Dutchman in 2023.

However, according to ESPN, Ricciardo is thought to be open to the idea of racing with the sister squad in 2024, given that it may boost his chances of returning to the main outfit in the future.

During his time on the sidelines this year, Ricciardo has carried out similator work for Red Bull as well as participating in commercial and marketing activities.

Additionally, the eight-time race winner took on a different role over the Canadian Grand Prix weekend by hosting The Grandstand with Daniel Ricciardo and Will Arnett on ESPN.

Ricciardo spoke of his belief that he can make a strong return to the F1 grid during the show.

"I know I can come back as a more complete version of myself," he explained.