Renault wouldn't rule out signing Vettel if Ricciardo leaves!

Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul says that the team would not turn down the opportunity to sign Sebastian Vettel if Daniel Ricciardo left the team to join Ferrari. Rumour has it that Vettel will leave Ferrari at the end of the 2020 season, with Ricciardo the most likely replacement.

Vettel's contract is up at the end of the 2020 season and with Charles Leclerc being given a long-term deal with the team, it seems concentrations have shifted from Vettel to Leclerc within the team.

Ricciardo signed a two year deal with Renault ahead of the 2019 season, but after a worse than expected debut year with the French team, it would be no surprise to see him move on.

Abiteboul told Canal+: "I don't want to say no, as he [Vettel] is a great driver, and a great champion.

"We worked together on the engine side [at Red Bull Racing] and we won together.

Despite this, Abiteboul says Renault are still focused on promoting their young drivers, if they deem them good enough for a race seat.

He added: "I rather aspire to work with tomorrow's drivers than yesterday's. It really is very difficult to sum it up like that, so please don't sum it up like that about Sebastian.

"Still, we also have a driver academy, with drivers who might come out of it in 2021 or 2022. We need to keep this in mind, as we created this academy in 2016 with the goal of having a driver graduate to F1 in 2021."