Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has claimed the team is already considering who would replace Daniel Ricciardo should the Australian not renew his contract after 2018.
Speculation over Ricciardo's future has been relatively muted amid the unhappiness of his teammate Max Verstappen, but whereas the Dutchman would have to break his current deal with the Austrian drinks giant to complete a move, the five-time Grand Prix winner would not.
Aware of his contract situation, it is claimed Renault audaciously tried to snatch the 28-year-old for 2018 before settling on a loan deal for Carlos Sainz, while a seat alongside former teammate Sebastian Vettel in 2019 has already been hinted at.
Elsewhere too, Valtteri Bottas is only on single year contracts at Mercedes, it is unknown how long Fernando Alonso will likely renew for at McLaren and maybe even Renault could be another consideration swapping with Sainz.
"Verstappen has a longer contract but Ricciardo is already on the market," Marko told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport. "We have to look for alternatives. We will not be unprepared."
Ricciardo has previously stated he will have to look elsewhere should Red Bull not produce a competitive car next season, with the man from Perth keen to finally fulfil his promise and challenge properly for the F1 title.
The team has shown signs of improvement as the season has progressed with Verstappen winning last weekend in Malaysia with Daniel third and Marko does think, on the chassis side, the Milton Keynes outfit is now the team to beat.
“Ferrari had problems,” he acknowledged reflecting on the events at Sepang. "But our race speed was comparable because in the end Sebastian was on Supersoft tyres and you saw that when he was catching Ricciardo, he went too close and he ruined his front tyres, so that’s why he had to stop his attack.
“But the big satisfaction is to overtake Mercedes and pull away. It shows that the works that we did since our poor start in Melbourne pays off, and the development goes in the right direction. Chassis-wise, for sure we are the best now.
“We’re going in the right direction and getting faster and faster, the car is really good. If everything stays together, then Max or Daniel can achieve a podium, and maybe one or the other can win.”
Should Ricciardo opt to end his long-running relationship with Red Bull, however, Marko would have a subtle dig at their rivals as he spoke of the trust the company shows in those they invest in.
"Red Bull, in complete contrast to Ferrari and Mercedes, have balls, and we put young drivers in the car. So let's see," he said referring to the recent opportunity given to Pierre Gasly with Toro Rosso.
Indeed, the young Frenchman is expected to be promoted to a seat full-time in 2018 with Helmut rejecting any thoughts of a non-Red Bull-backed driver joining the junior team, include Sean Gelael, who has been driving in recent Friday sessions, and Honda junior Nobuhara Matsushita.
"We are Red Bull, we are different. It's difficult to imagine [us looking outside our talent pool]," he claimed.
