Legend Mark Skaife's bold call out to recruit Daniel Ricciardo

News.com.au

2 days ago

Racing legend Mark Skaife is imploring General Motors to make a big splash as it searches for drivers for the 2026 Supercars campaign.
GM was blindsided earlier this year when the wildly successful Triple Eight racing outfit announced it would end their 15-year association and switch to Ford next season.
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Under the banner Red Bull Ampol Racing, Triple Eight drivers Broc Feeney and Will Brown are currently first and second in the Supercars standings respectively and both are under contract with Triple Eight for 2026.
Skaife won five Supercars championships and represented Triple Eight towards the end of his glittering career.
The 56-year-old told Speedcafe that GM should be targeting a big name to rebound from the shock Triple Eight split and that includes picking up the phone to Daniel Ricciardo.
'If I was running a race team, I would constantly be looking for the very best operators. You would be delinquent if you weren't,' he said.
'And they don't come along that often. You think about a Jamie Whincup or a Craig Lowndes, they are pretty few and far between in terms of absolute superstars.
'I think overall, the policy around having superstar drivers, I can't emphasise enough how essential it is. It's just fact.
'Where would Red Bull be without (Max) Verstappen? They'd be nowhere. To me, GM finding a, or maybe a couple, of real stars is essential.
'I thought when I read about (GM) trying to get Cam Waters, that made a lot of sense to me.
'But I'd be looking at some other scenarios. I'd be picking the phone up to someone like a Dan Ricciardo or a (Porsche Penske driver) Matt Campbell.
'I'd be looking outside our current sphere to try and procure an absolute superstar.'
Apart from some vague links with the new Cadillac team that will join the F1 ranks next season, Ricciardo has been barely sighted since his final race with the VCARB team at last year's Singapore Grand Prix.
The 35-year-old has given every indication he's finished as a driver, although he has expressed an interest in the past in attacking the Bathurst 1000.
If GM was able to attract Ricciardo to the team, still comfortably among the biggest names in Australian motorsport, it would be one heck of a coup.
Skaife's bold suggestion comes after Ricciardo's former teammate Verstappen's wild move in Spain last weekend was widely condemned.
While fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri saluted for the fifth time this season after winning the Spanish Grand Prix, edging out his teammate Lando Norris to secure a one-two finish, Verstappen lost his mind in the closing stages.
After closing to third place, Verstappen was left seething at his own team after having a set of hard tyres put on after a safety car.
He was instantly caught out by Charles Leclerc before later being advised by his team to hand a position back to George Russell.
That directive didn't sit well with the four-time world champion who slowed down, allowing Russell to pass before he jumped back on the accelerator and rammed into the Mercedes driver.
It was a spectacular blunder by his team, with FIA stewards confirming after the race they would not have penalised Verstappen if he had held his position.
F1 commentators around the globe were unanimous in criticising Verstappen for the vicious move.
Former world champion Nico Rosberg said on Sky Sports the Dutch driver should have been black-flagged and disqualified.
'It looked like a very intentional retaliation,' Rosberg said.
'Wait for the opponent, go ramming into him, just like you felt the other guy rammed into you at Turn 1.'
The F1 season is taking a break this weekend before the Canadian Grand Prix starts at 4am AEST on June 16.