Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner says Daniel Ricciardo will have no reason to look elsewhere for 2019 if the outfit can provide the Australian with a regular race-winning package.
Ricciardo has been a front-runner in Formula 1 since joining Red Bull from Toro Rosso in 2014 but Mercedes' dominance in the hybrid era, allied to his team's weaknesses, have precluded a title challenge.
Red Bull has made progress since revised technical regulations were introduced in 2017, displaying encouraging race pace, though its one-lap performance still lacks behind Mercedes and Ferrari.
Chinese Grand Prix winner Ricciardo is out of contract at the end of the year, but Horner reckons the 28-year-old will be convinced to stay if Red Bull can keep up the pace with its rivals.
“I think Daniel’s happy in the [Red Bull] environment,” Horner is quoted by the official F1 website.
“If we can give him a car like we did [in China], why would he want to be anywhere else?”
“He had the energy store failure in Bahrain, he had a turbo failure [during practice in China], losing him important track time.
“You get to a point where you think what next but it’s a great confidence booster for him, to get this result now in this point in the year. Everything is wide open.
“He’s a very rounded driver now. He’s absolutely at the top of his game and I think he has been for the last couple of years.
"He’s hit that balance of experience and pace. He’s one of the best overtakers in the business and his judgement is impeccable in terms of judging a gap, getting the car stopped and getting it rotated.”
Ricciardo’s Red Bull team-mate, Max Verstappen, is contracted through 2020.
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