Mercedes give up on Ricciardo?

Toto Wolff has distanced Mercedes from a move for Red Bull star Daniel Ricciardo. The Silver Arrows team boss says he is yet to consider any driver for his 2019 line-up outside of Mercedes' current stable of Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon.

Both Hamilton and Bottas are out of contract at the end of the year, as Ricciardo is at Red Bull, although the reigning champion says he remains committed to signing an extension, despite a long delay.

Ricciardo has shaped as they key player in 2019's driver market as he looks to put himself in the seat with the best chance of winning.

Both Mercedes and Ferrari have been linked with a move for the Australian, who recently won the Chinese Grand Prix with a stunning drive, but Wolff says he is yet to consider anyone from a rival team.

"We are not looking at drivers outside of Mercedes at the moment because, first of all, we need to give our support to our two guys, that's the priority," Wolff said.

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"It's like if you're happy with your wife, you don't look elsewhere! We are with our two wives - or three [including Ocon] - and we are not looking at that.

"Give us a few more races, [let us] start the European season properly, go to Canada, and then the intense July, and I will have a better view.

"It's a good problem to have.

"We are very satisfied with how Valtteri has been going these days and Lewis we don't need to talk about - he's the best of the current drivers in my opinion and then you have these kids growing up like Ocon and George [Russell].

"I am optimistic about the future Mercedes line-up."