Ricciardo: New Red Bull deal will definitely be sorted by Spa

Daniel Ricciardo says a new Formula 1 deal to remain with Red Bull will “definitely” be announced by the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of the month. 

Ricciardo’s contract with Red Bull expires at the end of the season but he is expected to remain with the Milton Keynes-based squad after Mercedes announced an unchanged driver-line up for 2019, with Ferrari set to either retain Kimi Raikkonen or promote Sauber’s Charles Leclerc to partner Sebastian Vettel. 

The Australian, who has taken two victories so far in 2018, had been considering his options in recent months but his future - for the short term at least - looks destined to be with Red Bull. Ricciardo had initially set a target of finalising his next contract by F1’s summer break, but an agreement is still to be reached. 

When asked if he had hoped to be heading into the break with an assurance over his future, Ricciardo told reporters at the second in-season F1 test at Hungary: “Yeah it’s alright, it’s all good. 

“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.”

Red Bull will take on Honda power units from 2019 after ending its 12-year relationship with Renault engines in a move that was confirmed on the eve of the French Grand Prix in June. 

The team had grown increasingly frustrated by a lack of performance compared to rivals Mercedes and Ferrari, as well as repeated reliability failures, the most recent of which came during last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen encountered a race-ending issue. 

Ricciardo has been associated with Red Bull for much of his career and has so far claimed two pole positions and seven victories during his five-year spell at the team, following his promotion from sister outfit Toro Rosso ahead of the 2014 campaign.