Ricciardo-Steiner talks at 30,000-feet… but not about a Haas contract

Ricciardo was heavily linked to Haas last year after it emerged that McLaren were terminating their deal with him.

Steiner was caught by the Netflix ‘Drive To Survive’ cameras considering approaching Ricciardo as a replacement for Mick Schumacher, but he was too expensive.

Team principal Steiner was asked by Sky if Ricciardo was an option for 2024 but said: “No. Not at the moment.

“Daniel is with Red Bull, I don’t know how long for.

“I was with Daniel on the plane to Australia. We had a chat.

“Not about the contract, just about general life and what’s going on.

“But we didn’t even go there, to be honest!

“Daniel wanted to take a year out then see what he wants to do next.

“When he is ready, he will phone people up and say ‘I am ready’.”

Haas eventually replaced Schumacher with Nico Hulkenberg, who is paired with Kevin Magnussen.

Will Daniel Ricciardo return to F1?

Ricciardo is the third driver for Red Bull, and made his first appearance in the F1 paddock of 2023 at his home race, the Australian Grand Prix.

Sky reporter Ted Kravitz said: “He’s cut a bit of a sad figure I want to say.

"He's been on the pit wall, the Red Bull pit wall and I think he's starting to feel the pain of not being a Formula 1 driver. The first race he has been to as not a Formula 1 driver for a long time. And I get a sense he is starting to feel it a little bit.

"I saw Danny Ric on the Red Bull pit wall watching the sessions and he looked to be in pain, he looked to be hating it.”

Ricciardo said about his potential comeback next year: “I don’t want to go back to ground zero. I don’t want to just be on the grid [in order] to be on the grid and struggle in 18th place. So I don’t want to be on the grid at any cost.

“I know that it’s harder to just jump straight into a top team in terms of availability. But I know that’s where I want to be. I know I thrive in those situations when there is more on the line.”