Ricciardo waiting for Hamilton to sign - Marko
- Published on 06 Jun 2018 09:28
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- By: Jeroen Jonkers
Daniel Ricciardo has put his Red Bull talks on hold until Lewis Hamilton signs a new deal at Mercedes.
That is not the claim of F1's speculative grapevine, but instead that of Dr Helmut Marko, a top official at Red Bull.
Red Bull wants Australian Ricciardo to stay, but he is being linked with Ferrari and Mercedes.
But Niki Lauda, Mercedes' team chairman, says Hamilton is definitely staying at Mercedes.
"Lewis is staying with us," he is quoted by Kronen Zeitung at an event at the Red Bull Ring. "It (the contract delay) is only about little things like promotion."
But Marko says Ricciardo has told Red Bull that he is waiting for Hamilton.
"Ricciardo doesn't want to sign until Hamilton has signed," he said. "It's a bit strange. Hopefully it ends soon."
Lauda, a shrewd contract negotiator, said he thinks Ricciardo's tactic is akin to "blackmail".
"We have not made him (Ricciardo) an offer," Lauda insisted. "So he can wait forever."
The good news for Red Bull is the form of both the 2018 car and Ricciardo, who is not ruling out a championship tilt.
Ricciardo could take some 'power unit' component change penalties this weekend in Canada, but Marko said the team will at least get a minor horse power boost.
"We're getting a Renault upgrade for Canada," he said.
After that, Red Bull needs to decide whether it will stay with Renault for 2019, or switch to Honda.
"We have an internal timetable that we want to have decisions on the engine and driver issues by the Austrian grand prix," Marko said.
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Replies (6)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
"That is not the claim of F1's speculative grapevine, but instead that of Dr Helmut Marko, a top official at Red Bull." Thats... Thats kinda funny actually... Well done.
Mind, with Ricciardo's current stint, he really deserves better than what he has as of present.
And by July, we will likely know whether they will stick with Renault or dare make the switch to Honda. So things are starting to get interesting.
blade
Posts: 341
I don't think there's a seat at Mercedes tbh. Bottas is doing more than enough to collect points and he's far more reliable than last year, his first yr with the team. Daniel you would think will stay at RB or move to Ferrari - with the latter seeming more possible given rumours about KR.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Ungrateful bastard. Typical Helmut Marko. While they courted the hell out of Max, they continue to put out this rubbish about Ricciardo
Kean
Posts: 692
Listened to the Swedish F1 commentator about the driver situation at the top 3 teams and he actually made alot of sense, I thought. Basically it centers around Leclerc, whom Ferrari are pushing really hard for but they may want him to have another learning year at Sauber. So for any driver to go to Ferrari for 2019 it would likely mean a 1-year contract, and that makes it more likely for Räikkönen to stay. Basically, if Leclerc continues to impress it will increase the chances for Räikkönen to stay. This rules out Ricciardo at Ferrari. And Mercedes? Bottas is doing a good enough job so he won't be replaced as long as he keeps it up. So in all likelyhood Ricciardo will stay at RBR.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
Agreed. Ricciardo might not want anything less than a 3 year contract, which Ferrari would definitely couldn't afford due to Charles. But, if Alfa Romeo steps up into a decent ForceIndia-esque team, it doesn't hurt to keep Charles there.
inflatable
Posts: 3,626
The sooner this whole contract shenanigans is over the better, so we can fully focus on just the racing itself again.. I do not see anything change in the top 3 teams for next year.. Mercedes and Ferrari and are happy with the "trouble free" teams they have and will keep Valtteri and Kimi as 2nd drivers.. So Daniel will most likely stay with Red Bull and just like Lewis at Mercedes get a improved (read: higher salary) contract, probably earning at least the same or even more then Max..