MOTORSPORT: Ferrari signals interest in Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo could become the first Australian to race for Ferrari in Formula One – the big unanswered question is how soon.

As he turns 26 today, Ricciardo has revealed that he has had an overture from Ferrari about his availability.

Kimi Raikkonen’s contract at the stable of the prancing horse expires at the end of this season and it is weighing whether to retain the Finn who would be 36 next season.

Red Bull Racing’s most powerful figure, Helmut Marko, insists Ricciardo has a “bullet-proof” contract that will keep Ricciardo at that team in 2016.

But funny things happen in F1.

Ricciardo, from Perth, is of Italian heritage. And Ferrari is Italian, very Italian, yet for decades has had few worthy Italian drivers to consider for a seat in F1’s most revered and successful team.

Ricciardo says that what he wants most is to win again. He is frustrated that his career has plateaued this year.

He scored three victories in his first season with RBR last year but has not been on the podium this season as its engine supplier Renault’s hybrid power plant has fallen further behind those of Mercedes and been overtaken by Ferrari’s.

A move to the Maranaello-based outfit would reunite Ricciardo with Sebastian Vettel, the German four-time world champion he outgunned at RBR last year.

No Australian has raced for Ferrari in F1 – and 1980 world champion Alan Jones greatly regrets not having accepted an offer to do it.

Tim Schenken, Australia’s fifth most successful F1 driver – behind late triple world champion Sir Jack Brabham, Jones, Mark Webber and Ricciardo – raced for the scuderia’s factory sports car team in the 1970s.

Ricciardo is frustrated at RBR’s uncompetitiveness this year and said he took the Ferrari overture as “a compliment”, while acknowledging it was unlikely he could make a switch soon.

“I won’t go into too much detail,” Ricciardo said.

“First and foremost, not talking about contracts or anything, what I want is to win.

“A lot of my frustration this year is because of that.

“We are not in a position to win and, as a driver, that is the only thing I want – at least in this point of my career when I am still young and hungry and I feel I have still have a lot of potential in me.

“With contracts it is not as easy as saying, ‘Yeah, I will go to Ferrari and that is that.’

“There are things in place, and right now it would be, from my understanding of contracts, it is not likely that I can get out.

“But at the same time, I really feel that Red Bull can make a change for next year and can get back up the front.

“I still think we have good people in the team. I think we still have the ingredients to do it.

“Going back on the Ferrari thing, it is nice to be recognised by a team like that so I will take it a compliment and see what happens.”

As it is unlikely that Ferrari could unlock Ricciardo as early as next year, the 25-year-old Finn at the Williams team, Valtteri Bottas, is favourite to become Vettel’s teammate if Raikkonen is not retained next season.

Another prospect is 27-year-old Nico Hulkenberg, winner of last month’s Le Mans 24 Hour sports car classic for Porsche.

An F1 driver with the Force India team, and champion in the now-defunct A1 GP series, Hulkenberg’s height and weight count against him under the modern F1 rules and recruiting him would mean both Ferrari’s drivers were German.

One thing that could give Ricciardo an 'out' at RBR would be if Red Bull energy drink tycoon Dietrich Mateschitz followed through on threats to quit F1, even though his team is contracted to remain in the sport for several years yet.

“I will probably never rule anything out completely, because I don’t have experience with contracts,” Ricciardo said.

“I haven’t been in F1 all that long. I am sure things can change – anything can change.

“Dietrich said some things in the press as well and you never know what is going to happen.”