David Coulthard believes Daniel Ricciardo should become an F1 pundit should the Australian want to maintain his “celebrity” status within the sport.
Ricciardo was dropped by RB, Red Bull’s sister team, with six races left of last season after a disappointing campaign. Liam Lawson replaced him and has since stepped up to become Max Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate for 2025.
Ricciardo was also axed by McLaren in 2022 and, at 35, the Drive to Survive star’s time in F1 looks to have come to an end and he has not confirmed his next steps in motorsport.
But Coulthard, the former Red Bull driver with 13 grand prix wins to his name, insists Ricciardo should turn to working in the F1 media sphere if he is looking for a future away from competing.
"If he has still got racing on his mind, then he's got to find a race championship, but there is no question he would be an asset for a Formula 1 team in terms of personality," Coulthard told the Driver podcast.
"But this isn't a personality contest, it is a stopwatch contest, and you've got to acknowledge that McLaren didn't work out and then the comeback with VCARB [RB] didn't work out either.
"But he has been gifted a period of time in F1 where the popularity and growth has been such that he's a celebrity beyond being a driver.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he has already worked out that working within the media space will help keep that celebrity.
"What I would recommend is that he doesn't think he can sort of take a year out and still be as interesting."
Ricciardo’s exit from F1 after last year’s Singapore GP is likely to feature in the new season of Drive to Survive, which is released on 7 March.
RB have since confirmed that Yuki Tsunoda and F2 runner-up Isack Hadjar will be their drivers for the new season.
The 2025 F1 season, which begins in Ricciardo’s home country of Australia, starts on 16 March.
