Red Bull refuse to wait forever for Ricciardo to sign

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has insisted that although he has some sympathy with the desire of Daniel Ricciardo to see what other options are available to him when his contract expires in 2018, the team would not simply continue to wait and bow to the demands of their current driver.

Ricciardo is seen as one of the most talented drivers on the circuit at the moment, but he has spoke of his frustration at the supposed lack of performance in the Red Bull vehicle which is hampering the collection of more Grand Prix wins.

The Australian has claimed that he wants to maximise the chances of victory in his peak years as a driver, and Horner has insisted that he understands these demands, but that Red Bull would not 'wait around forever' on their driver putting pen to paper on a new deal.

“I think Daniel knows what our strengths are and hopefully we’ll be in a reasonable position,” Horner told Racer.

“I think he’s at a stage in his career where he’s wanting to evaluate all of his options, which you can understand. The problem is we won’t wait around forever and we’ve got some very good options available to us, but our priority is to try and ensure we find a solution with Daniel.”

Ricciardo's main reason for not signing at the moment is understood to be Red Bull's inability to keep up with the vehicle performance of Ferrari and Mercedes, and Horner thinks that the results of the 2018 season will be a big factor in Ricciardo's ultimate decision on a new contract.

“I get the impression he’ll want to see relative engine performances next year. He’s had four years of frustration on that side of things, so I can understand him wanting to see how things are panning out,” Horner said.