Daniel Ricciardo would be welcome with open arms in the V8 Supercars Championship world should he choose to…

Daniel Ricciardo would be welcome with open arms in the V8 Supercars Championship world should he choose to leave Formula One, as long as he’s prepared to take a significant pay cut.

The Australian’s future in the sport looks increasingly in doubt, amid reports McLaren are already planning for life without him. Ricciardo finished 12th at the Spanish GP in Barcelona on Sunday and has scored only 11 points through the first six rounds of the championship.

The 32-year-old has finished in the top-10 just once – claiming sixth place at the Australian GP in Melbourne last month – and has been outscored by teammate Lando Norris in all but two races so far.

Should Ricciardo opt to leave F1, Supercars chief executive Shane Howard said the sport would be prepared to roll out of the red carpet for the Perth-born star.

‘If the opportunity presented itself to have Daniel on the grid as a wildcard or otherwise, we would absolutely want it to happen,’ Howard told the Herald Sun.

‘He is one of the best drivers and most recognised athletes in the world, it would be fantastic to have him race a Supercar at some point.

‘We haven’t spoken to Daniel or his management and it would be in the hands of teams to align any opportunities that may present themselves in the future, but for sure it is something we would support.’

Daniel Ricciardo would be welcome with open arms in the V8 Supercars Championship world should he choose to…

Ricciardo’s switch to the Australian competition, however, would require him to significantly revise his salary expectations. The former Red Bull star reportedly earns around $15million-a-year from his current deal with McLaren, while Supercar contracts seldom venture north of the $2million threshold.

Speaking earlier this month, Ricciardo conceded his career had entered ‘its second part’ and that he had no intention of following Fernando Alonso by remaining in F1 past his 40th birthday.

‘Unless I start winning every race and it makes a lot of sense, I don’t have 10 more in me,’ he told ESPN ahead of the Miami GP.

So I’m definitely on the second part of it. I couldn’t tell you now if it’s three years, five years, whatever, but I’m aware that I can’t see myself doing this at 40.’

Ricciardo, however, insisted he was not ready to walk away from the sport just yet and was ‘not considering’ retirement for now.

‘I’m still passionate about the sport and I still want to do good in it, so that’s it. It’s as simple as that,’ he said.

Ricciardo is under contract with McLaren until the end of 2023 season and team boss Zak Brown said the team was ‘in no rush’ to make a decision over the Australian’s future, indicating open discussions would begin later this year.

Brown, however, conceded McLaren would be ‘doing some testing’ with Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta, whose profile has rapidly grown amid Formula 1’s continued push to expand its profile in the US.