Daniel Ricciardo would be welcomed "with open arms" if he wanted to continue his racing career in Australia, according to Supercars Australia boss Shane Howard.
Following Ricciardo's sudden exit from Red Bull's Formula 1 program, Howard extended an invitation for Ricciardo to consider joining Australia's national touring car series.
"I think everyone would welcome Daniel with open arms, absolutely," Howard said at the launch of the iconic Bathurst 1000 Supercars event.
"Would we like to see Daniel Ricciardo in a Supercar? 100 percent. It would be absolutely massive. He is such an incredible driver and such an incredible personality and people just absolutely love him."
"Imagine him racing at Bathurst – wow," Howard added. "That would be very cool indeed."
Although Howard has not yet contacted Ricciardo or his management, he indicated that an approach would be made at an appropriate time.
"At an appropriate time we will reach out," said Howard. "Obviously, he has got a lot going on and we respect that."
Blake Friend, who is part of Ricciardo's management team, has ties to Supercars as a former employee, which Howard believes will help facilitate future discussions.
"At the right time we would reach out, but we would certainly like to have him in one of our cars," Howard confirmed.
Ricciardo's mid-season departure from Formula 1 has been a subject of widespread discussion, with some criticism directed at RB team owner Red Bull for the way the situation was handled. However, former F1 driver Marc Surer defended the brand, praising them for offering Ricciardo a second chance last year.
"The fact that Red Bull gave him a second chance was fantastic," Surer said. "He was basically nowhere and then given the status of reserve driver. Then they put him back in a car."
"Maybe they could have done more in that last weekend, but I think Red Bull's second chance is something to be highly credited to them," Surer added.
