Two-time Formula 1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen has backed Daniel Ricciardo to return to the sport in the future.
Ricciardo has taken on a third driver role with former team Red Bull following his departure from McLaren.
The Australian driver had a difficult two seasons at the Woking-based squad and often struggled to extract performance from his cars.
Ricciardo’s original contract was not set to expire until the end of the 2023 campaign.
He is hopeful of a return to the F1 grid in 2024, a scenario that Hakkinen thinks could come to fruition.
“It was great to see Daniel Ricciardo finish his career at McLaren by joining Lando Norris in the points on Sunday [in Abu Dhabi],” Hakkinen wrote in his column for Unibet.
“Daniel is a good driver, but after some years in F1 a break can be important.
“When I retired from F1 [in 2001] my McLaren team boss Ron Dennis convinced me to call it a sabbatical, but I knew I would not be coming back.
“I think Daniel is different – he has had a couple of tough seasons and just needs to rediscover his motivation. At 33 years of age, he has time on his side.”
At the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last month, there were commemorations throughout the weekend for Sebastian Vettel, who took part in his last race before retirement.
“Sebastian Vettel’s retirement is a big moment for him and F1,” Hakkinen said.
“He did an absolutely brilliant job at Red Bull to win those four titles and I feel sure we can say that finishing 2nd in a Ferrari to Lewis in 2017 and 2018 – at the top of Mercedes dominance – was really a great achievement.”
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