Verstappen BAN could offer Ricciardo shock F1 return

Daniel Ricciardo could be thrown a lifeline on the Formula 1 grid in 2025, as the Australian faces the prospect of at least a year out of the sport.

The 35-year-old was dropped from F1 back in September 2024, after struggling all-season long with the junior Red Bull team.

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He was replaced by Liam Lawson, who has now been promoted again up into the main Red Bull seat, while Isack Hadjar has replaced him at VCARB, leaving no viable options for Ricciardo for a 2025 seat.

The Australian has not officially retired, but a full-time return to the sport looks to be a longshot, with teams seemingly favouring young talents, and a number of other experienced racers also now looking for a way back in, including Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas.

However, could Ricciardo yet race in another grand prix, should something go drastically wrong for Red Bull in 2025?

Verstappen to receive race ban?

Red Bull are hoping that Lawson can help propel them back into constructors' championship contention, and if the New Zealander struggles to consistently perform, Yuki Tsunoda is sat primed and ready to go at VCARB.

However, what if four-time world champion Max Verstappen is then unavailable for a particular race weekend? Could the team look to Ricciardo or Perez to compete short-term?

The Dutchman is dangerously close to a race ban following a number of penalties that he picked up in the second half of last season.

Drivers who accumulate 12 penalty points on their superlicence over the course of 12 months are given a one-race ban, something that happened to Kevin Magnussen at Haas during the 2024 season.

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Verstappen currently has eight, with the first of those not expiring until June 30 2025, meaning the four-time champion will need to be extra careful in the first 11 grands prix of the season.

If he does get a ban, could Red Bull call upon eight-time grand prix winner Ricciardo or six-time grand prix winner Perez to help their constructors' championship fight? Considering the two were full-time drivers as recently as last year, it's not out of the question.

McLaren called upon the services of the recently-retired Jenson Button back in 2017, when Fernando Alonso missed the Monaco GP in order to compete in the Indy500, with that race going down as Button's last official F1 race.

In this sense, it's plausible that Ricciardo could be welcomed back for one big send off following an underwhelming end to his recent spell in the sport.

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