Ricciardo open to one-off return at iconic sports car endurance race

Max Verstappen says a future Le Mans entry with former Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo could appeal — but only if it comes with the preparation needed to properly challenge for victory.

Ricciardo raised the prospect on Wednesday on Formula One’s Beyond The Grid podcast, saying he could consider a one-off return to racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans rather than a full-season comeback.

Asked about a preferred teammate, the Australian named Verstappen, who he raced with at Red Bull from 2016 to 2018, as a leading candidate.

“He’s a smart man to choose me in the car,” Verstappen told reporters on Thursday at the Mexican Grand Prix.

The Dutchman added, however, that his Formula One commitments and projects away from the championship left little space in his calendar for endurance racing.

“If I want to do it, I want to do it properly, with really good prep,” Verstappen said. “At the moment I cannot do that. I don’t have the time, the free time, to dedicate to a Le Mans project.

“If we do something like that, it needs to be proper. It needs to be for a chance to win,” he added. “To have a chance to win against people who do it the whole season, you need to be prepared really well.”

For now, Verstappen’s attention is on a demanding weekend at the high altitude of Mexico City’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

“With the altitude, normally we have the wings to compensate a little bit for that, but now you basically just run one wing,” he said. “So there will be a lot less downforce on the car, which I think will already be quite challenging.”