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Honda deal doesn’t affect decision on future - Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo insists Red Bull’s decision to switch to Honda power units from 2019 onward will not have an impact on his own future.
Ahead of the French Grand Prix it was announced that Red Bull will split with Renault at the end of this season and become a works partner with Honda for the next two years. The confirmation came with Ricciardo still weighing up whether to stay at Red Bull or move elsewhere, but the Australian says the news will not influence what his decision.
“I think in short it probably won’t have an effect on what I choose to do,” Ricciardo said. “It gives me a bit more clarity of the direction the team’s going. They’ve pretty much got everything now laid out in front of me and it’s really up to me to understand, I guess, what I think of it.
“I see the pros with the decision, obviously, the chance to start something new with Honda and so I guess it’s now for me to think about. In a way, it’s a good thing that they have made a decision. We’ll see. Hopefully in a few weeks.”
With McLaren last week confirming it has held initial talks with Ricciardo, the 28-year-old says he does not plan on letting the interest lead to him making a decision late in this season.
“Of course there has been a bit of interest. Personally, I want to get something done, ideally before the summer break. More from a personal point of view. I want to go on break with a clear mind, so it feels like a break.
“I think it was a few years ago when I was making the transition from Toro Rosso to Red Bull, that all happened during the break and it wasn’t a fun August break for me, so just from that I would like to get something done.
“Obviously with Red Bull they’ve committed to Honda, so they’ve kind of got all the cards on the table, so I know what I’m getting there, and things are starting to get to a point where I know what’s what and hopefully I’ll have something soon for everyone.”
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
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