'Working on it': Daniel Ricciardo drops major Bathurst 1000 hint
Australian F1 star Daniel Ricciardo has hinted he could make an appearance at the Bathurst 1000 during a recent interview.
Ricciardo, who finished fifth in the drivers standings after an impressive second season with Renault, is set to switch teams to McLaren for the 2021 F1 season.
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It’s there that the 30-year-old will link up with team boss Zak Brown, who wields hefty influence across not just F1, but is linked to motorsport categories across the world thanks to his links to Supercars outfit Walkinshaw Andretti United.
Speaking to the In the Fast Lane podcast, which is produced by the Australian Grand Prix, Ricciardo said he and Brown had already held conversations about the prospect of him racing in the category.
“I've already had some conversations about Bathurst with (Brown), actually,” Ricciardo said.
“Working on it, working on it.”
Asked earlier if he’d like to take an F1 car for a lap around Mt Panorama, Ricciardo quipped that they’d have to raise the ride height before he got in the cockpit for a lap around the punishing circuit.
It wouldn’t be the first time a famous F1 face has hit the circuit during the Bathurst 1000, with 2009 champion Jenson Button lapping a McLaren around the circuit in 2011 and recording an unofficial lap record in the process.
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Brown, who took over as McLaren boss after the team’s lacklustre 2018 F1 season, has previously indicated he would be open to his drivers participating in other categories if the calendar suited it.
Ricciardo will have rising star Lando Norris as teammate next season, with the 21-year-old Briton entering his third season in the top flight of motorsport.
In an interview with in May, Brown told the Supercars Sidetracked podcast he was more than open to the pair appearing not just in Supercars, but other high-profile events around the world.
“I think they'd both love to do it,” Brown said.
“And I think people now know I'm a little bit different than most of the team bosses in F1, as I like to see our drivers go out and give it a go at Daytona or Le Mans, things of that nature.
“I think it'll just come down to schedule and whether they can fit it in the schedule.
“Bathurst, historically, conflicts with Japan – that's why sometimes I'm there and sometimes I'm not.
“I'd love to see them do it there.”
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