Ricciardo cautious over future direction

Daniel Ricciardo insists that he isn’t rushing to sign a fresh contract with Red Bull Racing, admitting that the team still has work to do to convince him to stay.

The Australian’s contract expires at the end of this season, and the 28-year-old has yet to ink an extension to stick with the team he has raced with since 2014.

Ricciardo is likely to be one of the hottest properties on the driver market next season, with both Mercedes and Ferrari being potential suitors.

When asked about his contract on Australia’s Channel 10 show The Project, Ricciardo said: “I want to be with the best car. The weekend [in China] proved that if I’ve got the opportunity to win I can pull it off. I can handle the pressure. If I can win a few more with Red Bull then that looks very attractive. If not I guess there are other options.”

Ricciardo is also aware of the upcoming regulations shift for 2021. He added: “I don’t want to sign anything too long because I don’t know where the sport is going. Ideally I’d sign a twoyear contract. The third year would be the rule change, so I will probably wait and see what happens then.”

Red Bull’s Christian Horner said: “Daniel’s hit that balance of experience and pace and is one of the best overtakers out there. He’s happy [at] Red Bull, but we need to keep giving him a car capable of winning races.”