Daniel Ricciardo has confessed to having an “itch” for Baja racing, whilst Ford’s global motorsport chief has left the door open for a competitive return in off-road events.<\/p>\n
The 36-year-old has maintained a relatively low profile since his abrupt F1 exit in September 2024, when Racing Bulls terminated his contract mid-season.<\/p>\n
However, his recent ambassador role with Ford has reignited speculation about a return to competitive motorsport.<\/p>\n
“The itch for Baja is there, but I’ve got a lot to learn,” Ricciardo admitted during a Ford Q&A session at the recent Raptor Rally event in Arizona. “A few more of these events, and then ask me next year, and we’ll see where I’m at!”<\/p>\n
The eight-time grand prix winner signed his Ford ambassadorship deal 12 months after his F1 career ended, with the arrangement centred around the American manufacturer’s Raptor pickup models and their off-road motorsport activities.<\/p>\n
Ricciardo’s association with Ford stems from its relationship with Red Bull, which will see Ford officially return to F1 as the Milton Keynes-based squad’s technical partner, as the six-time constructors’ champion embarks on a new era as a power unit manufacturer.<\/p>\n
The Australian was serving as Red Bull’s third driver when that collaboration was announced, and subsequently drove a Gen2 Mustang Supercar at Ford’s headquarters in Michigan as part of the promotional activities.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tNo immediate competition plans<\/p>\n
Whilst at the Arizona event, Ricciardo sampled a Raptor T1+ prototype, the same specification used in premier off-road events such as the Dakar Rally.<\/p>\n
Ford’s off-road involvement extends to Mexico’s Baja 1000 and Australia’s Finke Desert Race, events that could potentially suit Ricciardo’s skill set.<\/p>\n
Global Ford Racing boss Mark Rushbrook has revealed that, whilst there are currently no firm competition plans, the manufacturer is keeping options open regarding Ricciardo’s future involvement.<\/p>\n
“Honestly, right now, he has so much passion for off-road and for Ford Raptors,” Rushbrook told the KTM Summer Grill. “He bought a Ford Raptor long before we ever had a relationship with him that he’s kept in Los Angeles.”<\/p>\n
Rushbrook explained that Ricciardo’s enthusiasm for the brand preceded any formal relationship, dating back to his personal purchase of a Raptor whilst still competing in Formula 1.<\/p>\n
“When we first met him, and he first came to Dearborn when we announced a relationship in 2023, he just wanted to drive Raptors,” he continued.<\/p>\n
“And then when he was out of the seat in Formula 1, and we talked about, well, what is your passion? We knew it was Raptors, and it was a match that he wanted to do more there with us.”<\/p>\n
The manufacturer has utilised Ricciardo extensively in promotional activities, including appearances at F1 Las Vegas and various off-road events. His genuine enthusiasm for the platform has impressed Ford’s senior management.<\/p>\n
“So we had him at Raptor Rally a couple months ago, we’ve had him doing a lot of other off-road stuff around F1 Las Vegas, and he’s enjoying that so much,” Rushbrook explained. “We’re enjoying that time with him, and the benefit that we get from that.”<\/p>\n
Whilst declining to commit to specific competition plans, Rushbrook acknowledged the possibility remains open for future developments.<\/p>\n
“I guess, TBD, what we’ll see in the future. At this point, I can say there is no plan for competition, but you never know what the future holds.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Daniel Ricciardo has confessed to having an “itch” for Baja racing, whilst Ford’s global motorsport chief has left…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356949,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,827,817,830,828,831,829,826,813,816,823,825,824,822,85],"class_list":["post-356948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-daniel-ricciardo","tag-f1","tag-f1-calendar","tag-f1-live","tag-f1-results","tag-f1-standings","tag-ferrari","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-lewis-hamilton","tag-max-verstappen","tag-motorsport","tag-racing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}