Daniel Ricciardo contract talks on hold as Red Bull deliberate over engine swap

Red Bull are to put on hold their contract talks with Daniel Ricciardo as they deliberate over whether to swap long-time engine supplier Renault for Honda.

Ricciardo has seen his stock rise in recent months after claiming victory in the Chinese and Monaco GPs, with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitting that the Australian’s success at the weekend has likely increased his value.

But, for now, Horner and his team remain focused on more pressing issues.

“You could say that [winning] made Daniel more expensive, it has put his value up, or it’s put the team in a stronger position in terms of valuable potential to him,” said Horner.

“The reality is finding a solution to conclude a deal with Daniel in the next couple of months.

“First thing is get the engine sorted and then very much follow on from there with [the] driver.”

After three dismal years with McLaren, Honda is currently in a rebuilding year with Toro Posso and is set to introduce the first performance upgrade of the season in Canada, where Renault will also bring a second engine specification.

Although Renault has expressed its dissatisfaction in the delay, Horner has stressed the importance of being able to compare the two manufacturers’ progress in Montreal.

“It will all depend on the data,” said Horner. “We’re about a month or so away. End of June, beginning of July is the timescale we’ve always talked about.

“We’re waiting with great interest to see the relative performance of the engines in Montreal in two weeks’ time.”