Daniel Ricciardo was a hot commodity before his thrilling victory at the Chinese Grand Prix. His exploits in Shanghai have only served to elevate his name at a time he is mulling over where he will be driving in 2019, with the Australian currently in the final year of his Red Bull contract.
Ricciardo, who turns 29 this year, knows this decision will define the rest of his Formula One career. Getting it right would provide him with the championship contender he has craved since he rose to prominence in 2014, but the wrong step at this stage could doom him to more frustrating years in uncompetitive machinery. Here, we look at the options open to the man from Perth.
Stay put at Red Bull
Ricciardo has been a part of the Red Bull programme since 2007 and it has guided him through the junior ranks to his current position. The team has invested a lot in the Australian and its priority is to keep him on board alongside Max Verstappen, which Red Bull believes to be the strongest line-up on the grid. The team has other options — namely Carlos Sainz — and is clearly not willing to be left waiting for too long, evidenced by the August deadline Christian Horner has given for Ricciardo to make a decision on its contract offer.
The main reason for any apprehension about signing a new deal would be Red Bull’s failure, before 2018, to deliver him a title-winning car. It is still yet to be seen whether this year’s can compete with Mercedes and Ferrari from this point, although early-season form suggests the RB14 could be the best chance he’s ever had of winning a championship. The team’s performances between now and the Hungarian Grand Prix, the last race before the team’s contract deadline, will be crucial.
There is uncertainty about Red Bull’s future from this point too which all must be taken into account. It seems unlikely Red Bull and Renault’s partnership will be extended beyond 2018. Taking on Honda engines after a year of troubleshooting with Toro Rosso seems to be the logical step for Red Bull but, despite a close factory deal being a better option than its existing customer status, there are no guarantees Honda would make the step required to legitimately put Red Bull at the front next season. Despite Red Bull’s recent improvements, staying put would be a fairly sizeable gamble.
Ferrari
Recent reports in Italy suggest Ricciardo and Ferrari have signed a deal providing exclusive negotiating rights for a couple of months — the date circulated has been June 30. While this seems significant it is also nothing new for F1’s most famous team and there is a long list of drivers who signed similar deals with Ferrari only to never end up wearing its famous red overalls. But, if true, the suggestion of Ricciardo replacing Kimi Raikkonen next January has to be taken seriously.
Ricciardo and Ferrari seem like a natural fit. His father was born in Sicily and his mother was born in Australia to Italian parents. Add to that his infectious personality and the fact he can speak Italian and it’s easy to see why Ferrari would be interested in securing his services. He would also be an upgrade on Raikkonen and, alongside Sebastian Vettel, would give the team a line-up capable of challenging for both championships. From Ricciardo’s point of view, the move would also coincide with the big step forward Ferrari has made on-track this year.
The looming presence of Vettel makes this option an interesting one. There is no way Ricciardo would accept anything less than equal status with the four-time world champion and it is worth considering whether Ferrari would risk upsetting Vettel by signing the man who helped trigger his move away from Red Bull in 2014. Ricciardo is the one teammate to have beaten Vettel over a full season and he did so having arrived at a team where the German was the established diver. Although Vettel said ahead of the Australian Grand Prix that he would welcome the Australian as his teammate next year, being rejoined by Ricciardo in 2019 might seem like déjà vu.
There is also a strong suspicion in the paddock that Vettel, who last year signed a deal locking him down at Ferrari until 2020, holds some sway in the team’s decision, meaning he could still play a key role in this situation. Regardless of Vettel’s influence, this one certainly could happen and if it did it would provide one of the most compelling intra-team rivalries in recent memory. But then so would Ricciardo’s final option…
Mercedes
On paper, this appears to be the most tantalising destination. It would move him to the team which has dominated the V6 turbo era and, most appealingly, put him alongside Lewis Hamilton. Last year Ricciardo told ESPN he wanted the chance to drive alongside Hamilton while the Englishman is in his prime and those are the years the four-time world champion is currently enjoying. Although both of Mercedes’ current drivers are out of contract this year, an extension for Hamilton seems to be a matter of when and not if. Convincing Mercedes he is an able replacement for Valtteri Bottas is Ricciardo’s task if he wants to make the switch happen.
Ricciardo’s career to this point suggests he would not be fazed by pairing Hamilton. As well as the year alongside Vettel in 2014 he has consistently raised his game as current teammate Max Verstappen’s results have improved. Although Mercedes has failed to win a race so far in 2018, the strength of its overall package suggests Ricciardo would have an immediate shot of winning a title driving the silver car.
However, talk of this move has cooled somewhat since the start of the season. Team boss Toto Wolff is a known pragmatist and is likely to be wary about unsettling the team’s current situation. After years of managing Hamilton’s frosty relationship with Nico Rosberg, the arrival of the cool and unassuming Bottas has steadied the ship. That’s not to say Ricciardo would be a disruptive influence, but signing him would present the team with a big unknown. It is hard to overstate the influence Hamilton has had on Mercedes since arriving in 2013 — both in F1 and beyond — and there is little sense in the team giving him a reason to walk away.
The ramifications
The decision made by Ricciardo will have a huge impact on the rest of the F1 grid. The most obvious person set to be affected is Carlos Sainz, who is currently on loan at Renault. The Spaniard will be hoping Ricciardo decides to part company with Red Bull as he is the logical replacement. If Ricciardo stays put, its hard to see Sainz continuing with a Red Bull programme which can offer him no viable step up the grid. Continuing with Renault would appear to be his best option from there.
Elsewhere, Bottas’ future hinges on 2018 but two other interested parties will be Mercedes junior Esteban Ocon and Ferrari junior Charles Leclerc. Both men have been tipped as the future of their respective teams’ factory outfits and Ricciardo could act as a significant roadblock to either of them, at least in the short term. A move to Mercedes would also see Bottas on the market for next year, making the Finn a likely candidate to replace Sainz (assuming he finally made the step up to Red Bull).
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