Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has issued a warning to driver Daniel Ricciardo about considering his future with the Anglo-Austrian team, following comments by the Australian he wouldn't mind a future Mercedes seat.
Ricciardo's current contract with Red Bull expires at the end of 2018 and, after four disappointing seasons of coming up short, it is thought if the Milton Keynes factory fails to deliver again next season, the five-time Grand Prix winner will weigh up alternatives.
Another major factor he has to consider is the rise of current teammate Max Verstappen, who has seemingly become the bigger priority for the senior team as it was announced he signed up with the team until 2020.
Comments days prior to that from Horner, also suggested Verstappen should "build the team" around him going forward, raising some thoughts as to whether the Dutchman was now the preferred driver.
Those eyebrows were raised further when, last weekend in Austin, the 20-year-old received an engine upgrade which, it turns out, Ricciardo had no idea about until he was asked about it by the media.
"It is very difficult for us to measure what the difference is [between the two engine specs]," the Red Bull boss said as he defended not telling the Aussie.
"Renault have only made one engine available to each team and Max was due a change here. So obviously it made logical sense for that to go in his car this weekend and take the [grid] penalty.
"The intention with Daniel, and it is still the intention, is to not to have to take a penalty between now and the end of the season."
Nevertheless, with suspicions of growing backing towards Verstappen, any notion of that happening, which Ricciardo himself has played down, would go against one criterion which would put him off leaving.
"If I was to negotiate with another team, one of the first issues would be insisting on identical conditions," he said. "If someone said 'We'll sign you but you'd have to support your teammate', I wouldn't sign."
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But it is that warning of becoming a 'No. 2' at another team which Horner is using to try and convince the 28-year-old to stay.
“It’s an absolute priority for us to retain the drivers,” he told Sky F1. "Here, they have equal chance to go for that championship, if he goes to Mercedes or Ferrari he’s just going to be a number two driver.
“Daniel knows that we want to retain him in the team, and hopefully it won’t take too long to sort that out.”
It doesn't seem the driver is ready to "sort that out" just yet though, particularly after expressing a desire to test himself alongside the 2017 champion in waiting.
"Obviously I've had the chance with Seb and I've had it with Max," Ricciardo stated. "While Lewis [Hamilton] is in his prime I would like to challenge [him] and see [how I would do against him]."
With the Briton's current teammate Valtteri Bottas only signed on for one more year at the Brackley team, that is an option which could open for him.
However, when asked directly if Mercedes would be interested, motorsport boss Toto Wolff replied: "We have just extended with Valtteri and we haven't thought beyond 2018."
