Christian Horner: "Ricciardo should stay at Red Bull"

Christian Horner thinks Daniel Ricciardo should re-commit to Red Bull for the future. The Australian, who commandingly won in China, is out of contract at the end of the year and linked with potential moves to Mercedes or Ferrari.

He said serious contract talks about 2019 haven't started, but grinned that Shanghai - where his high-profile teammate Max Verstappen also struggled - "hasn't hurt my position". 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg thinks Ricciardo should talk to Ferrari.

"I remember hating having him behind me in the races," the German said in China. "If I was him, I'd go to Ferrari. It's the best car at the moment and he knows he can beat Sebastian," Rosberg is quoted by Auto Bild.

Others aren't so sure. That's because while Kimi Raikkonen is in good form so far this year, Ferrari may in fact be tactically favouring Sebastian Vettel in the races. Referring to the strategy in China, Red Bull boss Horner told Ilta Sanomat newspaper: "If you look at Kimi's competition, I really couldn't understand the tactic."

And so he thinks staying at Red Bull would be a better career move for Ricciardo. "I think Daniel's happy where he is at this time. If we can continue to give him a car as we did at this race, why should he go somewhere else?" Horner said.

"He's become a well-rounded professional and I think his form peaked already two years ago actually. He has both experience and speed -- a great combination. I think compared to Max, who is still very young and gaining experience, Daniel is at another stage in his career," Horner added.

Indeed, speaking after the Chinese grand prix, where Verstappen made high profile errors, another Red Bull boss Dr Helmut Marko insisted: "Daniel was flawless. You can see who can overtake and who cannot. Max was too impetuous," he told Austrian broadcaster ORF. (GMM)