Ricciardo: New deal will be done before Spa

Daniel Ricciardo has stated that his new deal with Red Bull will be finalised and announced before the summer break ends in August. The Australian is out of contract for next year, as was linked to Ferrari in the early stages of the season.

However, it wasn't long before the 29-year-old fell out of contention for a seat alongside Sebastian Vettel, before Mercedes set their eyes on securing Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas for next year. Ricciardo's teammate Max Verstappen extended his contract with the energy drink team until the end of 2020.

It was widely expected that Ricciardo would remain with Red Bull next year, and now the seven-time Grand Prix winner says that the deal should be done before this month's Belgian Grand Prix.

"It’ll definitely be done by Spa so whether it gets announced over the break or at Spa, but it’s just a little bit of fine-tuning.  It’s all good. You will hear something soon I’m sure.”

Ricciardo has won two races this season so far, but has been plagued by car unreliability. He currently sits fifth in the driver's standings, one position and 13 points ahead of Verstappen.