Despite taking his first victory of the season on Sunday, Daniel Ricciardo insists his Aston Martin Red Bull Racing need to win more races this year to convince him to re-sign for the Milton Keynes-based team for 2019 and beyond.
The Australian made a number of superb overtakes during the Chinese Grand Prix to take his sixth career victory, but 2018 is the final year of his current contract with Red Bull, and he insists he wants to be in the best possible car next year, which could mean him leaving the team he first joined in 2014.
Ricciardo feels his performance at the Shanghai International Circuit proved again that he has what it takes to fight at the front, and more wins with the team this year will make him more likely to remain with Red Bull.
“I definitely want to be with the best car,” said Ricciardo during an appearance on ‘The Project’ on Australia’s Channel 10. “I think the weekend proved that if I’ve got the opportunity to win I can pull it off. I can handle that pressure and that intensity.
“If we can win a few more with Red Bull now then that looks very attractive. If not, then I guess there are probably other options.”
Ricciardo admits that if Red Bull do not lift their game, then it may be they would no longer be the most attractive proposition to him, which could then mean he moves on.
“I said it from the start,” said Ricciardo. “The win helps, but if we were finishing sixth every race this year then that is not the most attractive option to me.”
