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Horner: Red Bull package vital to Ricciardo future

15:54, 20 Apr 2018

byJake Williams-Smith

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has admitted that whether or not Daniel Ricciardo re-signs with the team will depend on how strong of a package they can offer the Australian.

Ricciardo's contract expires at the end of the 2018 season and rumours have circulated that he could be on his way to Ferrari to reunite with former Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel.

Red Bull have made progress this season and achieved a race victory before reigning champions Mercedes but Horner knows it will be vital they maintain this level of competitiveness if Ricciardo is to stick around.

“I think Daniel’s happy in the (Red Bull) environment,” Horner told the official F1 website.

“If we can give him a car like we did (in China), why would he want to be anywhere else?”

“He had the energy store failure in Bahrain, he had a turbo failure (during practice in China), losing him important track time.

“You get to a point where you think what next but it’s a great confidence booster for him, to get this result now in this point in the year. Everything is wide open.

“He’s a very rounded driver now. He’s absolutely at the top of his game and I think he has been for the last couple of years.

"He’s hit that balance of experience and pace. He’s one of the best overtakers in the business and his judgement is impeccable in terms of judging a gap, getting the car stopped and getting it rotated.”