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After 21 years in the sport, Frosty is pressing pause — for now.
However, the Sydney-born racer revealed his announcement came with a caveat.
“Never say never.”
The man made famous with the Ford badge remains open to return in 2026 despite having previously earmarked next year as his last.
At the Sandown 500 this year, Winterbottom told Speedcafe he thought he would get an extension with Team 18 before moving into a co-drive role.
The sticking point was whether it would be a one- or two-year deal to remain full-time.
That ultimately didn’t come to pass. The team instead dropped Winterbottom cold in favour of Anton De Pasquale.
Having eyed 2026 as his last year in Supercars full-time, the 43-year-old said he’s open to a full-time return if the right opportunity exists.
“If there’s a good option, you consider it,” Winterbottom said on Thursday ahead of the Gold Coast 500.
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“But it’s also hard. You don’t see many people [return], other than Will Davison and Lee Holdsworth did it.
“This takes so much of your life this sport – like emotionally, physically, and you do it because you love it and all that and I’m not sure what happens when you step away.
“I haven’t been in that position before so it’s rare to see someone step out and come back, but in a good car back at the enduros it’s the best audition, you know.
“Guys go there who are written off and they go and win the two biggest races and all of a sudden they’re back in the frame, so you never say never.
“At the moment, it’s not really on the cards for me.
“The biggest thing… your family sacrifices so much with this too. So after 21 years, you can kind of say, ‘Hey, what do you guys want to do?’ And just take a step back for a bit and see, see how you feel. But you don’t know. You can’t answer that until you’re in that moment.”
Ultimately, opportunities to race full-time in 2025 were slim to none.
After the Sandown 500, rumours swirled that Winterbottom might land at Brad Jones Racing.
Although Winterbottom did not explicitly reference the Albury-based team, he intimated as much.
“It’s funny. There’s not options until you become on the market and then things happen,” he said.
“But for me, nothing’s confirmed or in cement, so there’s a point where you’ve got to just be realistic on everything.
“I’m not sure if there were [options] but the way I see it, unless something’s done, it’s never an option, is it? So, you know, just got to move forward.”
