Ever since the news broke that Ricciardo is being offered a £15m-a-year deal by McLaren, the F1 fraternity has been searching high and low about comments from Red Bull chiefs about the apparent offer.
Red Bull have announced a massive transformation for the next two seasons, as they have made the switch to a Honda powered engine.
Due to the uncertainties around the switch, it is rumoured that Ricciardo might be off to either Ferrari or Mercedes, as he has earlier confirmed that his next team will probably be his last in F1.
And for a driver that has been knocking on the door of a F1 championship for sometime now, it only makes sense that he goes to a team that has the maximum chance of producing an F1 champion.
According to Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko, Hamilton stalling talks on his new Mercedes contract is making Ricciardo wait as well.
“Ricciardo doesn’t want to sign until Hamilton has signed,” Marko said as quoted by Daily Mail
“It’s a bit strange. Hopefully it ends soon.” he added.
Ricciardo wants to know the value of Hamilton’s deal before striking a deal with the Red Bull bosses. Hamilton’s salary is close to £40m whereas Ricciardo earns a tenth of that.
McLaren have apparently offered him a massive hike but have refused to comment on the offer.
“We never comment on driver matters.” McLaren representatives said as quoted by Express sport.
With Raikkonen’s future also being uncertain in F1, Ricciardo might try and force a move to Ferrari, if both parties are satisfied with the agreed terms, but at the moment we’ll have to wait and see the kind of contract Hamilton gets.
“Our Daniel Ricciardo is the king of the market
“McLaren offers him more every week.” Marko concluded
