Daniel Ricciardo has revealed that there were conversations with Ferrari over a possible move to the team in the past, but he admits that a switch was “never crazy close”.
The Australian entered the 2018 season with his contract expiring and one of the hottest commodities on the driver market after some race-winning displays with Red Bull.
However, Ricciardo made the shock plunge to Renault when it became clear that Ferrari was angling to promote academy graduate Charles Leclerc to replace Kimi Raikkonen.
Ricciardo was then again in the frame for a Ferrari seat when it was announced that Sebastian Vettel would not be renewing his deal with the Italian marque beyond 2020.
But Carlos Sainz, who will exit for Lewis Hamilton in 2025, would be handpicked to partner Leclerc, while Ricciardo departed the Enstone-based squad to drive for McLaren.
Ricciardo, who was axed from McLaren and returned to Red Bull, has admitted that there were tentative talks about him driving in red but advanced negotiations never took place.
“There was conversations, but it was never it was never like ‘Here’s the contract, will you sign it?’ It never got to that point,” Ricciardo said via RacingNews365.
“So it was never close to a point where it was in my hands and I certainly engaged in some conversations, but I would say it got to the first level it never got to the second or even the third.
“It was never crazy close, because also they were a top team so it was always something at the time I was keeping an eye on.”
Ricciardo’s association with the Italian nation that houses Ferrari has been well-documented, with his father having been born there before relocating to Australia.
However, the 34-year-old asserts that he removed the emotional side of his cultural ties when deciding his future, insisting that performance was his main contemplation.
“I never wanted to just put everything into that like ‘Oh, it would be amazing to be a Ferrari driver one day’ I kind of had a more simple approach that if it works, if the timings right, maybe that’s a thing that happens. But I didn’t put everything into it,” Ricciardo explained.
“At the end of the day, it’s a very prestigious race team, but it’s a race team just like the others. I try not to put too much weight into all the other stuff that comes with it.”
Ricciardo will be competing this season for an Italian-based team as he drives for Red Bull’s rebranded second entry RB, formerly known as Toro Rosso and AlphaTauri.
The eight-time F1 winner has been on record stating that his main ambition is to return to the senior Red Bull squad, with Sergio Perez under intense pressure to retain his seat.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko divulged that Ricciardo retains a long-term contract with the Austrian company, removing him from contention for the vacancy at Mercedes.
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