Ex-Formula 1 driver Mark Webber believes compatriot Daniel Ricciardo is walking on a “tight rope” with his contact situation at Red Bull yet to be resolved.
Ricciardo, who enters the final year of his contract with the Austrian outfit this year, has admitted this season is “make or break” as to where his future lies in the sport from 2019.
The Australian has been linked with a move to Red Bull’s rivals Mercedes and Ferrari, nevertheless, Webber reckons the deal dragging on further will have no affect on Ricciardo’s performances on-track.
“The stop watch is important – the first part of the year is very important for him,” Webber told The Age Newspaper. “He knows that. He is on a tight rope. There is no question.
“Any driver comes to that point in his career where it’s negotiation time again on contract – there is a little bit more in the air around the team.
“I have been through that stability, in the middle of it where you are just knuckling down, and, obviously, right on the edge where you are waiting to renew your contract, whether it’s you stalling or the team stalling. I have been through both of those.
“At the end of the day, when the helmet is on, it can’t affect you, whether you have a five-year contract or a five-minute contract – you have to deliver. The team sees that.
“They are measuring everything now, there is nowhere to hide which is good for him because it sorts out the wheat from the chaff. That’s why he has had a long career and continues to have long career because he deserves to be there.”
Red Bull is in the midst of its own contract scenario, with the team pondering a move to Honda engines from next year. Nine-time grand prix winner Webber sees Red Bull’s decision playing a part in Ricciardo’s eventual choice of destination.
“Red Bull, do they know how to put a championship together? Absolutely,” Webber added. “They are crafty, in the trenches, they will use every trick in the book. They know what to do to put a long campaign together.
“It’s just whether Renault can sustain the blow torch of the amount of horsepower and consistency and reliability that Mercedes have over the course of a long campaign.
“Then they have a big decision to make at Red Bull of what they do with their engine themselves. That’s going to be another thing playing out in Daniel’s decision-making process. They might have a different engine next year with a Honda, or stay with Renault, they have got a lot of thinking to do at Red Bull in terms of what power unit they use.”
