McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo has been linked with a surprise move to NASCAR next season as his time at the British side begins to draw to a close.
The Australian joined McLaren from Renault at the start of last year, but his partnership with Lando Norris has not turned out as many would have hoped or indeed expected.
The 33-year-old has been out-performed by his younger team-mate, although it was Ricciardo that grabbed the team’s first win since 2012 at the Italian Grand Prix last year.
Having scored points on 17 occasions and stood on the podium just the once, the pressure was building on the eight-time race winner’s side of the garage, and the team were left with few options.
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Over the summer break, it was agreed, by mutual consent, that Ricciardo will be leaving McLaren at the end of the 2022 season, and he will be replaced by Alpine reserve driver, Oscar Piastri.
The Perth-born racer has been linked with a return to the Alpine team, as well as possible signatures with Haas, Alfa Romeo and Williams, whom Nicholas Latifi will depart at the end of the year.
Should Alpine opt to try and sign Pierre Gasly, then there may be a possible opening at AlphaTauri too, but Ricciardo has not quite figured everything out yet.
One possibility is to step away from Formula 1 completely, and reports from the Herald Sun have suggested that NASCAR Trackhouse owner, Justin Marks, may take a closer look.
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The American has already worked with another F1 star, Kimi Raikkonen this season, with the Finn competing at the Go Blowing at the Glen event.
The 42-year-old crashed out of the Cup Series race having been running in the top 10 at one point, so the result was not at all reflective of what has been a fantastic display by the 2007 world champion.
Ricciardo has previously affirmed that he had made “peace” with the possibility of not being in the pinnacle of motorsport next year.