Ricciardo F1 RETURN handed major boost by shock announcement

Former Formula 1 star Daniel Ricciardo could be handed an F1 lifeline, after a shock announcement was made earlier this week.

The Aussie racer had driven for Red Bull junior team VCARB earlier this season with a promotion back to the main team rumoured to be a potential option for him at one stage in 2024.

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After a disappointing run of results however, Ricciardo was dropped from RB altogether in a brutal mid-season driver swap, being replaced by reserve driver Liam Lawson.

Despite his experience in the sport, the 35-year-old was often outperformed by younger team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, who himself is now reportedly being considered for the promotion up to Red Bull's main team, after their driver Sergio Perez has been flagging lately behind star driver Max Verstappen.

The team's history has clearly shown they are not afraid to make difficult decisions when it comes to their driver lineups, and with a strong pool of talent awaiting an F1 opportunity within their junior programme, any Red Bull seat is likely to come with a lot of pressure.

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Although Christian Horner's team have developed an impressive young driver programme, the team principal hasn't shied away from suggesting they would be interested in talent from elsewhere - stirring the pot earlier this year by expressing interest in signing Mercedes star George Russell - with the team now also reportedly considering Williams driver Franco Colapinto to join their ranks.

Should Horner and the team's advisor Helmut Marko lose hope in their own young drivers such as F2 star Isack Hadjar, they may be forced to look elsewhere for a seat.

11th F1 team could boost Ricciardo comeback chances

Luckily for F1 hopefuls like Hadjar, two new seats are likely to become available from 2026, after F1 recently confirmed an agreement had been reached for a new team to join the grid from the 2026 season.

After years of American giant Andretti Global pushing to join the sport, F1 have confirmed that a new entry bid has been successful led by another American brand, with an agreement announced this week for General Motors-Cadillac to join the sport as an 11th team.

With the new entry now in the works, the question on everybody's lips is who will GM/Cadillac sign as their first driver pairing.

Another team who faced a similar predicament earlier this year were Sauber who, ahead of becoming Audi from 2026, secured the signatures of experienced driver Nico Hulkenberg and F2 star Gabriel Bortoleto.

If the American giants were to take a leaf out of Audi's book, this could suggest a career lifeline may be on offer for Ricciardo - his experience and understanding of the sport potentially being just what the team need to hit the ground running in their early years.

If the combination of experience and youth proves successful for Audi, GM-Cadillac could side with a driver like Ricciardo or even Sebastian Vettel if he can be tempted out of retirement, with rookies like Hadjar or past F2 champions Theo Pourchaire and Felipe Drugovich, who are both eager to secure a spot on the F1 grid.

Naturally, GM-Cadillac will also be looking for drivers who align with their growing brand and prove popular to an American audience, with IndyCar driver Colton Herta already being linked to the seat.

Where Ricciardo could come in handy, however, is with his own popularity across the pond, the fan favourite's charisma and energy having proved to have won American audiences over, especially after becoming the star of Netflix hit docu-series Drive to Survive.

As the sport grows exponentially stateside, Ricciardo would not only be a wise choice as GM-Cadillac's first driver signing, but also an immensely popular one.

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